The first two wells have been drilled by Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) in the starting stage of the Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power project in Imperial, California.

General Motors is collaborating with CTR to secure sustainably produced lithium from the venture, located in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field. Lithium will be produced from geothermal brine through a closed-loop, direct lithium extraction process that results in a smaller physical footprint, no production tailing and lower carbon dioxide emissions when compared to traditional processes such as pit mining or evaporation ponds.

Most lithium used in lithium-ion batteries is currently mined and processed outside of the U.S. However, the lithium resource to be tapped by CTR from the Salton Sea is one of the largest known lithium brine resources in North America. The Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area currently has an inferred lithium resource of 15 million metric tons and is projected to be capable of producing more than 600,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually.

The project is scheduled to deliver its first 50 MW of baseload renewable power in late 2023 and an estimated 20,000 tons of lithium hydroxide in 2024.