Californian geothermal lithium seen as critical in U.S. mineral supply chain

Hudson Ranch I geothermal power plant, January 2012, Salton Sea, California/ U.S. (source: EnergySource)

Late last month, the U.S. President announces major investments to expand the U.S. critical minerals supply chain. The goal is to break the dependence on China and boost sustainable practices, so the White House in a Fact Sheet on Feb. 22, 2022.

As part of the announcement, Lithium in particular is mentioned and the fact sheets pointed to the groundbreaking work done in the Imperial Valley/ Salton Sea in California.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables (BHE Renewables) will announce that this spring, they will break ground on a new demonstration facility in Imperial County, California, to test the commercial viability of their sustainable lithium extraction process from geothermal brine as part of a multibillion-dollar investment in sustainable lithium production over the next five years. If successful, this sets the company a path towards commercial scale production of battery grade lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate by 2026. Imperial Valley contains some of the largest deposits of lithium in the world. Once at scale, BHE Renewables facilities could produce 90,000 metric tons of lithium per year.

In addition to BHE Renewables, Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) and EnergySource Minerals have established operations in Imperial County to extract lithium from geothermal brine. GM will source lithium for EV batteries from CTR. The companies are also working with the state-authorized Lithium Valley Commission to develop a royalty structure that would invest profits from their operations in infrastructure, health, and educational investments for the residents of the surrounding region.

Source: Office of Governor for California, White House Briefing