California Pilot Plant Could be Churning out ‘Sustainable’ Lithium as Early as 2023

Following recent reports that newly accessed geothermal power resources in California could also provide access to lithium as a valuable by-product, a pilot facility is now in development.

Resource developer Controlled Thermal Resources recently signed a power purchase agreement for 40MW of geothermal energy with Imperial Irrigation District, a water – and energy – provider in Southern California.

CTR is also now creating Hell’s Kitchen Co, facilities for lithium extraction and chemical processing at its geothermal plant at Imperial Valley’s shallow, saline Salton Sea. CTR has now partnered with technology provider Lilac Solutions, which has its own proprietary ion exchange technology, to open up a pilot plant to extract lithium from the run-off geothermal brine