A Canadian company pioneering nanotechnology solutions for lithium extraction and recovery in critical minerals and battery metals sectors announced recently that it is working with a Taiwan-based company active in advanced hydrometallurgy technologies for precious metals recovery, e-waste recycling, and more.
Calgary’s Litus says it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Taiwan’s UWin Nanotech, a certified Apple supplier for recycling since 2020.
The agreement establishes the parties’ intention to cooperate toward a potential strategic collaboration focused on extraction, separation, recovery, and purification of cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other elements from recycling sources, according to a statement from the firms.
The collaboration will explore the use of Litus’ proprietary nanomaterial composite and advanced separation processes, says company founder and chief executive officer Dr. Ghada Nafie.
“This MOU reflects the growing global demand for advanced processing technologies that can recover lithium and other valuable materials efficiently, selectively, and with lower environmental impact,” the entrepreneur remarked.
“By combining Litus’ nanotechnology platforms with UWin’s hydrometallurgy technology expertise, we see strong potential to accelerate the development of scalable, circular critical mineral supply chains,” said Nafie.
Litus’ flagship technology, Litus LiNC, is a patented, one-step direct lithium extraction platform designed to economically recover lithium from both low and high-concentration brines, including brines that have previously been considered uneconomical.
There is also Litus ReLiGN, is a next-generation battery recycling platform engineered to recover battery-grade lithium from end-of-life batteries and is designed to transform discarded batteries from waste into a renewable domestic source of critical minerals, reducing dependence on newly mined lithium.
Areas of collaboration between Litus and Uwin will include optimizing material performance for different components and feedstocks; evaluating technical feasibility and commercial economics across different streams and sources; and discussing potential future definitive agreements for scale-up, licensing, distribution, or joint venture opportunities.
Following recognition as Venture of the Year at the Alberta Cleantech Awards in 2024, Litus experienced a breakthrough in 2025.