Industrial-scale project brings new approach to brine management and water security to the region

PERTH, Australia, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Capture6 yesterday 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 now running as a single integrated system at the Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct near Perth, generating the operating data that will shape Capture6’s first commercial facilities. The launch was marked with a ribbon cutting attended by Dan Bull MLA, Member for Maylands, representing the Hon. Amber-Jade Sanderson MLA, Minister for Energy and Decarbonization.

At Tortuga, Capture6’s process runs at a scale that mirrors commercial operation. The data it produces on performance, energy use and product quality gives partners in water-intensive, hard-to-abate sectors a clear, measured view of what the technology can deliver.

Inflows into Perth’s dams have fallen from an average of 420 gigaliters (GL) a year before the mid-1970s to about 76 GL a year since 2010, according to Water Corporation, and desalination now supplies around half of Perth’s drinking water, according to the WA Government’s Made Possible by Water plan. Industry is also a major source of demand, representing 46% of the state’s water allocation.

“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,” said Dan Bull MLA, Member for Maylands. “Project Tortuga shows how we can get more out of every liter we desalinate, while tackling climate change at the same time.”

The water treatment processes that meet this demand produce large volumes of saltwater brine. At a typical recovery rate of 45%, every liter of freshwater produced by a seawater desalination plant leaves behind roughly 1.2 liters of concentrated brine. Across Australia, Capture6 estimates that desalination, energy and industrial processes generate up to 950 GL of brine each year. Treating that brine could unlock up to 470 GL of additional freshwater annually, equivalent to around 188,000 Olympic swimming pools, while creating the technical potential to remove approximately 15 million metric tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year. Tortuga is building the operating evidence needed to turn that potential into a scalable solution for industries and utilities across Australia, while contributing to the nation’s legislated target of net zero by 2050.

“Australia needs new sources of water and new ways to remove carbon, and Tortuga shows both can come from the same system,” said Ethan Cohen-Cole, CEO of Capture6. “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.”

Every unit operation at Tortuga uses commercially available equipment, so scaling up is a matter of replication rather than redesign. Capture6 designs each project around a partner’s specific brine, water and carbon challenges, and because the units are containerized, they can be deployed directly at partner sites and integrated with existing operations without disrupting them. CB&I served as primary engineering partner on Tortuga, leading front-end engineering design and supporting commissioning, while ATE / Huber fabricated the balance of the plant.

“Taking Tortuga from design through fabrication to commissioning meant engineering a plant that is ready to scale for commercial operation from day one. That’s what gives future Capture6 partners confidence in the data the facility produces,” said Scott Mclean, Operations Manager of CB&I.

Project Tortuga’s support comes through Round 1 of the Carbon Capture Technologies Program, administered by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water as policy lead.

Beyond Tortuga, 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.

Desalination plants, mine sites and industrial facilities across Western Australia produce brine that could become a new source of freshwater. Capture6 plans to bring its technology directly to partner sites like these, so future partners can build on the evidence generated in Perth rather than starting from scratch.

About Capture6

Capture6 is a water recovery company that turns desalination and industrial brine into freshwater, capturing carbon dioxide from the air in the process. Its approach uses commercially available, industrial-scale equipment and, when paired with desalination, can recover around half of the freshwater remaining in brine for drinking and industrial use. Capture6 has projects underway in Western Australia and California. The company is backed by investors including Tetrad Corp., which led the company’s funding round, along with Hyundai Motor Group’s ZER01NE Ventures, Energy Capital Ventures and Elemental Impact. Learn more at capture6.com.

Media Contact

DG+ for Capture6
David Ganske
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SOURCE Capture6