A Vancouver clean tech company has been awarded a contract to deliver a pilot water unit to be used for testing water recovery systems and processes at NASA Ames Research Center with the intent for future use on board the International Space Station

Vancouver cleantech industry darling Saltworks Technologies lands NASA contract to clear up drinking water problem on-board the International Space Station. This is the latest positive development for the four-year old cleantech company based in Vancouver.

GLOBE-Net- A Vancouver clean tech company may soon be launching some of its new technology into space.

Saltworks Technologies Inc. has been awarded a contract to deliver a pilot water unit to NASA. The unit will be used for testing the water recovery systems and processes at NASA Ames Research Center with the intent for future use on board the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA has been experiencing problems with calcium fouling its water recovery system. It commissioned Saltworks to design and build a unit that will address this problem. The company has been building the unit for some time and expects to ship it to NASA for ground testing later this week.

According to V.P. Business Development Malcolm Man, "Saltworks is pleased to be working with NASA to potentially provide water treatment solutions for their International Space Station".

Saltworks is a four-year old Vancouver clean-tech company that has developed an energy efficient way to convert salt water into fresh water through desalination. The company's technology removes salt from seawater and underground saline water by harnessing low-temperature heat provided by solar energy or waste heat from power generation, which reduces the amount of mechanical and/or electrical energy required.

Its headquarters include a fully permitted hybrid desalination plant and solid salt maker. The low pressure, low cost plant is built largely from plastics and offers considerable energy savings.

Saltworks continues to commercialize its innovative desalination and water treatment technology platforms, including applications in BC's mining industry. It is currently working on oil and gas water treatment projects and has recently engaged mining companies for treating their mine tailings. It has also provided a desalination plant to the Canadian Forces.

The company has been a darling of the cleantech industry since it was incorporated.

In April 2009 it received $580,000 in development funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

In the fall of 2010, Corporate Knights Magazine named Saltworks one of its "Top 10 Canadian public and private cleantech companies poised to make it big".

At the GLOBE 2010 Awards for Environmental Excellence, Saltworks was a finalist in The Award for Excellence in Emerging Technology.

In May, 2011, Cenovus Energy Inc., the Calgary-based integrated oil company, invested $2.5 million in Saltworks through its Environmental Opportunity Fund (EOF), which enables environmental innovations in energy and technology.

And in February, the company received close to $1 million from the Province of British Columbia's Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund. Other backers include Knight Piésold and Teck Resources.