A Texas A&M University research team is developing a new approach to lithium recovery using tiny, fish-like swimming nanorobots that capture lithium ions from seawater. Supported by a $1 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) award, the project aims to create a more efficient and sustainable pathway to access a critical mineral needed for batteries, electric vehicles and energy storage technologies.
Led by Dr. Shiren Wang in the Wm Michael Barnes ‘64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Dr. Jingjing (Jenny) Qiu in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, the project is part of a DOE initiative supporting innovative technologies to strengthen the nation’s critical mineral supply chain.
Demand for lithium has grown rapidly as electric vehicles, batteries and clean energy storage systems become more common. However, current lithium production depends heavily on land-based mining and underground brine extraction, which are limited by location and available resources. The Texas A&M team is exploring seawater as an alternative source and developing tiny mobile robots designed to improve how efficiently lithium can be recovered.
“Unlike traditional mining that digs up land or pumps brine from underground and requires massive amounts of energy, these autonomous micro/nanorobots move freely through seawater to harvest lithium with virtually zero infrastructure footprint,” Qiu said.
The team’s technology uses specialized micro- and nanoparticles that can move through seawater when activated by external forces, such as light, and can be recovered using magnetic fields. By moving through seawater like fish, the micro/nanorobots can actively seek and capture lithium ions rather than relying only on stationary extraction methods.
“Seawater lithium recovery could provide a stable alternative source to address the growing global demand for lithium,” Qiu said. “Our goal is to develop a technology that supports a more reliable domestic lithium supply chain while reducing the environmental footprint associated with traditional extraction methods.”
The researchers will focus on improving robot performance, testing lithium recovery efficiency and developing methods to scale the technology toward larger demonstration systems. The team also aims to create a process that is cost-effective, reusable and capable of operating continuously.
Several challenges remain, including separating lithium from the many other minerals naturally present in seawater, ensuring the durability of the micro/nanorobots in complex marine environments and demonstrating that the technology can be scaled for industrial applications. Researchers will also evaluate the environmental impacts of future deployment.
The project aims to build on Texas A&M’s strengths in micro/nanorobotics and materials science and engineering to address challenges in sustainable critical mineral recovery. The team’s work combines micro/nanorobot design, biomimetic movement, smart materials engineering, marine system testing and lithium recovery characterization.
The project is one of 19 DOE-funded critical minerals projects selected to advance technologies that strengthen the U.S. clean energy supply chain. By developing active, mobile extraction technologies, the Texas A&M team hopes to create a new pathway for lithium recovery that supports the future of battery technology and energy infrastructure.
By Taylor Northcut, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
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