Capture6 Opens Project Tortuga Near Perth
Capture6 Project Tortuga opens near Perth with eight units recovering freshwater from brine while capturing CO₂ from air.
Capture6 has launched Project Tortuga, an industrial-scale facility in Western Australia that recovers freshwater from brine while capturing CO₂ from the air. Eight containerized units are operating as a single integrated system at the Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct near Perth. The launch included a ribbon cutting attended by Dan Bull MLA, Member for Maylands, representing the Hon. Amber-Jade Sanderson MLA, Minister for Energy and Decarbonization. Project Tortuga is intended to support water-intensive and hard-to-abate sectors.
Brine Recovery Potential
Inflows into Perth’s dams have fallen from an average of 420 gigaliters a year before the mid-1970s to about 76 GL a year since 2010, according to Water Corporation. Desalination supplies around half of Perth’s drinking water under the WA Government’s Made Possible by Water plan, while industry represents 46% of the state’s water allocation.
Dan Bull MLA, Member for Maylands, said:
“Perth's freshwater reserves and inflows now receive much less of the water they once did, and desalination is part of the suite of measures the WA Government is implementing to sustain water for the future. Project Tortuga shows how we can get more out of every liter we desalinate, while tackling climate change at the same time.”
At a typical recovery rate of 45%, every liter of freshwater produced by a seawater desalination plant leaves roughly 1.2 liters of concentrated brine. Capture6 estimates that desalination, energy and industrial processes across Australia generate up to 950 GL of brine each year, with potential to unlock up to 470 GL of additional freshwater annually and remove approximately 15 million metric tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year.
Commercial Scale Operations
Every unit operation at Tortuga uses commercially available equipment. Capture6 designs projects around a partner’s brine, water and carbon challenges, with containerized units intended for deployment at partner sites and integration with existing operations.
Ethan Cohen-Cole, CEO of Capture6, said:
“Australia needs new sources of water and new ways to remove carbon, and Tortuga shows both can come from the same system. What we're proving in Western Australia is built to scale, for partners here and around the world facing the same pressure on water and climate.”
California Project Progress
Capture6 is completing construction of the first phase of Project Monarch for Palmdale Water District in Southern California. The project will eventually turn roughly 2.6 million liters of brine a day from the district’s purification facility into clean water, captured CO₂ and green chemicals.
The full-scale project could save the district up to 40% compared with alternative brine management and eliminate the need for 68 hectares of brine ponds. Construction is scheduled to finish in early 2027, with operations expected to begin in the second quarter of next year.
Evidence For Future Sites
Desalination plants, mine sites and industrial facilities across Western Australia produce brine that could become a source of freshwater. Capture6 plans to bring its technology to partner sites, drawing on the operating experience from Project Tortuga.
