California’s Lithium Valley Crucial to EV Industry
Jun 27, 2023 7:01 am
California’s Lithium Valley Could Supply The EV Industry
2 min read
Spreading east from the Salton Sea, California’s largest inland body of water, is a large underground geothermal field boiling with potassium, sodium and lithium. The region has now been dubbed “Lithium Valley”. Eric Spomer, CEO of Energy Source Minerals, said, “We’re confident that this is in excess of 300 000 tons a year… more than half of the world’s supply of lithium.” Energy Source Minerals has plans to recover lithium using an electric plant powered by the geothermal field. Spomer said they conservatively project that the lithium from the Salton Sea would support 7 and a half million EVs a year, half of the total 2022 US passenger car sales.
Once extracted from the geothermal field, the lithium will be shipped, refined and then processed into millions of rechargeable EV batteries. Mark Stewardt, Head of Stellantis North America, agrees that the lithium in the ‘Lithium Valley’ is enough to supply the lithium needs for all American car manufacturers. He also hinted that they have already reserved some lithium for purchase before it has already been extracted.
How Energy Source plans to extract the lithium
The Salton Sea region currently uses geothermal energy to generate electricity. Their electric plants are powered by 315.56⁰C geothermal brine that comes from more than 1.6 km underground. The hot brine creates clean steam which moves turbines to generate electricity for 400 000 homes. Before, the mineral-rich brine would be dumped back into the ground, but now Energy Source will extract lithium from the brine before pumping it back beneath the earth. Energy Source has developed a system to turn orange liquid brine into a clear lithium solution, which will be dried into powder in just a few hours.
It currently costs $4 000 to extract a ton of lithium, which will then sell for six times that. This is particularly striking because the ‘Lithium Valley’ lies beneath one of the poorest regions in California. The hope is that the Lithium Valley will help create jobs and bring more economic activity to that part of California.
EV growth, especially in China, accounts for most of the lithium demand in the world. Lithium is such a key component in EVs that Stellantis has even signed a 10-year contract to purchase lithium from Controlled Thermal Resources which is mined at the Salton Sea. Stellantis did this knowing that there is still a chance that this product is not commercially viable.
Spomer said the following about the EV tax deductions working together with the lithium reserves found: “It's a competitive advantage. It’s an opportunity that we can be a leader globally.”
What do you think of the Lithium Valley? Do you think it will help America get the edge over China in the EV industry? Share your thoughts by replying to this email!
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