How Are Materials, Processes and AI Changing Salt Lake Lithium Extraction?

From 3 to 5 August 2026, the 2026 China (Golmud) Lithium Conference and the 4th Lithium Battery New Energy Development Conference, themed "Empowering Salt Lakes, Advancing the Lithium Future," was held in Golmud, Qinghai Province. The conference brought together representatives from relevant national authorities, leading experts, academics, and key players across the lithium industry value chain to exchange insights on strategic topics including resource security, technological innovation, and green transformation.

Backed by years of expertise in salt lake lithium extraction, Jiuwu Hi-Tech has established itself as a leader in the adsorption+membrane direct lithium extraction (DLE) process. The company also led the development of the industry standard for lithium adsorbents, leveraging advanced materials, integrated process technologies and intelligent solutions to enable more efficient and reliable development of salt lake lithium resources.

As a co-organiser of the conference, Jiuwu Hi-Tech showcased its integrated salt lake lithium extraction solutions, lithium adsorbents, smart manufacturing solutions for the lithium industry, and key materials for solid-state electrolytes. The company also delivered a keynote presentation on intelligent salt lake lithium extraction, highlighting its end-to-end capabilities spanning core materials, process integration and smart manufacturing.

01 Core Materials: From Efficient Lithium Extraction to Safer Batteries

Material performance plays a critical role in production efficiency, operating costs and product quality. At the conference, Jiuwu Hi-Tech showcased its lithium adsorbents for salt lake resource development, alongside key materials for solid-state electrolytes designed for next-generation batteries, highlighting the company's technology portfolio spanning both upstream lithium resource extraction and advanced battery materials.

Lithium Adsorbents: Enhancing Lithium Recovery and Operational Reliability

Lithium adsorbents are the core materials in adsorption-based direct lithium extraction from salt lake brines. Their adsorption capacity, lithium selectivity, mechanical strength and cycle life have a direct impact on lithium recovery, process efficiency and operating costs.

As the lead drafter of the industry standard for lithium adsorbents, Jiuwu Hi-Tech showcased both aluminium-based and titanium-based lithium adsorbents, which can be tailored to different brine compositions and process conditions.

Through the integration of advanced material development and process engineering, Jiuwu Hi-Tech addresses key industrial challenges, including adsorption efficiency, particle breakage, material degradation and long-term cycling stability, helping customers reduce process variability and ensure reliable long-term operation of DLE systems.

(High Adsorption Capacity; High Adsorption Efficiency; High Cycle Life;High Selectivity)

Aluminium-based Lithium Adsorbents

Tailored to different brine compositions and process conditions, enhancing lithium recovery performance.

Titanium-based Lithium Adsorbents

Improving particle strength and cycling stability while reducing material degradation and breakage risks.

Solid-State Electrolytes: Enhancing Battery Safety

In response to the growing demand for solid-state batteries and hybrid solid-liquid battery systems, Jiuwu Hi-Tech showcased three key materials at the conference: high-purity lithium sulfide (Li₂S), lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (LATP), and lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO).

Solid-State Electrolyte Materials

Among these materials, high-purity lithium sulfide (Li₂S) can be used for the synthesis of sulfide-based solid-state electrolytes, while LATP and LLZO can be applied in scenarios including separator coating, cathode and anode material modification, and in-situ solidification electrolyte additives. Focusing on key customer requirements such as ionic conductivity, particle size, moisture content, magnetic impurities and batch-to-batch consistency, Jiuwu Hi-Tech continues to advance material preparation, performance control and application validation to support the commercialization of advanced battery materials.

Recently, Jiuwu Hi-Tech applied its independently developed LATP solid-state electrolyte in a 1Ah NCM811 pouch cell system. During extreme overcharge and over-discharge tests, the cell demonstrated enhanced safety performance, with no smoke, fire or explosion observed under overcharge conditions up to 4.62V and over-discharge conditions down to 0V. After testing, the cell showed no significant swelling, deformation or electrolyte leakage, further validating the potential of LATP materials in improving battery safety.

Core materials form the foundation of technological capabilities, while their successful transition into customer value requires stable and adaptable process systems as support.

02 Full-Process Integration: Enhancing Salt Lake Resource Development Efficiency through “Adsorption + Membrane” Technologies

Salt lake brines feature complex compositions, with significant variations among different resources in terms of magnesium-to-lithium ratios, sodium-to-lithium ratios, impurity profiles and lithium concentrations. Efficient lithium extraction requires tailored process designs based on specific resource characteristics, integrating multiple stages including pretreatment, adsorption, desorption, impurity removal, concentration and product preparation.

Leveraging its two core technologies — lithium adsorbents and membrane separation — Jiuwu Hi-Tech has developed an integrated solution covering key stages of salt lake lithium extraction. The company provides customers with comprehensive services ranging from resource characterization and process route design to equipment integration and operational optimization.

Salt Lake Lithium Extraction Process

Through the coordinated operation of multiple process units, Jiuwu Hi-Tech can support the production of various lithium products, including lithium chloride, lithium carbonate and lithium phosphate, based on customer requirements.

For customers, the value of the “Adsorption + Membrane” integrated solution lies not only in the performance of individual equipment units, but also in the coordinated matching of materials, processes and equipment according to specific brine conditions. This approach helps reduce integration risks between different process stages, while improving lithium recovery efficiency, system integration and long-term operational reliability.

With core materials and process systems becoming increasingly mature, a new challenge for large-scale salt lake lithium production is emerging: how to promptly identify production fluctuations, rapidly adjust operating parameters and accurately evaluate plant performance and economic benefits.

03 Intelligent Optimization: Making Every Plant More Connected, Predictive and Measurable

During the conference, Zhang Yangyang, Marketing Director of Jiangsu Jiuwu Hi-Tech Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech titled “Core Processes as the Foundation, Intelligent Algorithms as the Driver — AI Reshaping the Amoeba Model for Salt Lake Lithium Extraction.” The presentation focused on the synergistic application of core lithium extraction processes and intelligent algorithms, sharing Jiuwu Hi-Tech’s practical insights into smart production and refined operational management.

The presentation addressed key challenges encountered in real-world salt lake lithium extraction projects. Brine compositions and operating conditions can vary with seasonal changes and mining areas, while traditional production models often rely heavily on manual experience. Critical ion analysis may experience delays of up to four hours, and equipment anomaly responses may be delayed by four to eight hours. Delayed process adjustments and fragmented production data can negatively affect lithium recovery, water consumption, operating costs and overall plant stability.

Jiuwu Hi-Tech Marketing Director Zhang Yangyang delivers a keynote speech

Zhang Yangyang emphasized that AI truly serving industrial production must be built on process fundamentals, engineering expertise and real-world operational data.

Leveraging its fifth-generation lithium adsorbents, third-generation continuous ion exchange equipment, proven experience from projects exceeding 100,000 tonnes per year, and more than 220 process-related variables, Jiuwu Hi-Tech has developed a three-level capability framework of “sensing–cognition–decision-making” and a four-layer architecture consisting of “data foundation–intelligent analytics engine–application interface–security gateway.”

The system continuously performs operational monitoring, anomaly prediction and parameter optimization recommendations through AI, while adhering to the principle of “AI-assisted decision-making with human final review” to ensure that production decisions remain safe, reliable and controllable.

At the same time, the system adopts a single production unit as the basic operational and management unit, refining the calculation of lithium recovery, water consumption and operating costs from a monthly basis to an hourly level. By integrating real-time operating conditions, the system dynamically generates performance benchmarks.

According to the expected performance of the solution, it can achieve over 95% real-time monitoring coverage, 2–4 hours of advance warning for pressure drop anomalies, and more than 50% reduction in manual sampling and testing workload. This enables customers to identify abnormalities earlier, adjust processes faster and evaluate plant performance more accurately.

In line with the theme of the keynote speech, Jiuwu Hi-Tech also showcased its Smart Workshop Solution for the Lithium Industry.

Smart Workshop for the Lithium Industry

The solution integrates process operations, data acquisition, data infrastructure, intelligent analytics, application interfaces and control execution, connecting equipment status, process parameters, production data and algorithm models. It enables continuous monitoring and optimization of key stages, including adsorption, desorption, membrane separation and purification/concentration, driving salt lake lithium extraction from automated control toward intelligent decision-making

From Materials and Processes to Intelligent Solutions: Creating Continuous Customer Value

From core materials such as lithium adsorbents and solid-state electrolytes, to the “Adsorption + Membrane” integrated salt lake lithium extraction solution, and further to smart manufacturing workshops and AI-assisted decision-making, Jiuwu Hi-Tech is building a comprehensive capability chain that integrates material development, process design, equipment integration and production operations.

Jiuwu Hi-Tech New Energy Team

Looking ahead, Jiuwu Hi-Tech will continue to focus on customers’ practical needs in areas including resource recovery efficiency, production reliability, operating costs and intelligent management. By promoting deeper integration of materials, processes, equipment and digital technologies, the company aims to provide more reliable and sustainable technological support for the efficient development of lithium resources and the advancement of the new energy industry.