Perth – October 13, 2026 -- Capture6 has launched Project Tortuga, an industrial-scale facility in Western Australia that recovers freshwater from brine and captures CO2 from the air, with eight containerized units now running as a single integrated system at the Australian Automation and Robotics Precinct near Perth.
The plant generates operating data on performance, energy use and product quality that will shape Capture6's first commercial facilities. Dan Bull MLA, Member for Maylands, attended the ribbon cutting on behalf of Energy and Decarbonization Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson.
Perth's dam inflows have fallen from 420 GL to about 76 GL a year
According to Water Corporation, inflows into Perth's dams averaged 420 gigaliters (GL) a year before the mid-1970s and have been about 76 GL a year since 2010. The WA Government's Made Possible by Water plan puts desalination at around half of Perth's drinking water. Industry accounts for 46% of the state's water allocation.
Desalination at 45% recovery leaves 1.2 liters of brine per liter of freshwater
Each liter of freshwater from a seawater desalination plant at a typical 45% recovery rate 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 a year.
Treating that volume could unlock up to 470 GL of additional freshwater annually, equivalent to around 188,000 Olympic swimming pools. It would also create technical potential to remove approximately 15 million metric tons of CO2 a year. Capture6 links the work to Australia's legislated net-zero-by-2050 target.
Bull said the project shows how to get more out of every liter desalinated while tackling climate change.
Commercially available equipment makes scale-up a replication exercise
Every unit operation at Tortuga uses commercially available equipment, so scaling up requires replication rather than redesign, according to Capture6. The containerized units can be deployed at partner sites and integrated with existing operations without disrupting them. Each project is designed around a partner's specific brine, water and carbon challenges.
CB&I was primary engineering partner, leading front-end engineering design and supporting commissioning. ATE / Huber fabricated the balance of the plant. Support for Tortuga 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.
Project Monarch in California targets 40% savings for Palmdale Water District
Capture6 is completing construction of the first phase of Project Monarch for Palmdale Water District in Southern California. The project will eventually convert roughly 2.6 million liters of brine a day from the district's purification facility into clean water, captured CO2 and green chemicals.
At full scale, Monarch 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.
Capture6 plans to take its technology to desalination plants, mine sites and industrial facilities across Western Australia.