Experts Outline ‘Promise and Challenges’ of Lithium Valley

IMPERIAL — The Lithium Valley panel at the recent Salton Sea Conference brought together scientists, planners, policymakers and industry leaders to lay out a broad — and at times sobering — picture of Imperial County’s energy future through the lens of lithium extraction.

Panelists presented data on mineral reserves, environmental concerns, infrastructure needs and community engagement efforts tied to the proposed Lithium Valley — the collection of lithium extraction and processing sites near the Salton Sea that could reshape the region’s economy.

“This is not a trivial amount of lithium,” said Michael McKibben, professor of geochemistry and economic geology at UC Riverside, who led off the May 9 panel with an overview of the Salton Sea’s lithium potential. “If we consider what we might build in the future … lithium production could reach almost a million metric tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent. And that’s enough for almost 30 million electric vehicles per year.”

McKibben explained that the existing geothermal power plants at the Salton Sea already produce around 120 million metric tons of brine each year, containing lithium concentrations of approximately 200 parts per million. Assuming a 90 percent recovery rate — a figure McKibben called “a very realistic assumption” — the current infrastructure, with no added development, could yield about 115,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent annually.

“That’s enough to make about 4 million electric vehicles per year. And that’s just from the power plants that are there today,” he said.

Beyond lithium, McKibben noted that other critical minerals in the brine — such as strontium, manganese and zinc — could contribute significantly to domestic supply chains. “In the case of strontium, you’d actually have to worry about ruining the market … because you could produce more than 100 percent of our needs.”

Water usage, often raised as a point of concern, was addressed with specific data. “Even if all currently proposed geothermal production and lithium extraction were to be put in place, that would only account for about 4 percent of the historical water supply in the region,” McKibben said. “We shouldn’t be worried about water use in terms of extracting these commodities.”

He pointed out that the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) has historically underused its 3.1 million acre-feet allocation by an average of 100,000 acre-feet annually — far exceeding the needs of lithium operations.

McKibben also detailed environmental advantages of extracting lithium from geothermal brine, compared to traditional lithium mining. “There’s no new drilling or blasting or grinding. You don’t have to leach rock. You don’t have to have tailings piles,” he said. “These are all the ugly things that go on in South America and Australia to produce lithium now.”

Following McKibben, planner Brian Mooney laid out the vision behind the 51,620-acre plan to prepare the region for industrial development around lithium and clean energy.

Planner Brian Mooney discusses Lithium Valley during a panel at the Imperial Valley Salton Sea Conference. Mooney is managing principal at Rick Engineering Co. and author of Imperial County’s Lithium Valley Specific Plan.

“We need to be thinking bigger than lithium,” said Mooney, managing principal at Rick Engineering Co. and author of Imperial County’s Lithium Valley Specific Plan. “How do we extract lithium … but how do we also possibly turn it into products? How do we create a manufacturing district, possibly, where we can build things?”

The plan divides the area into phases, with phase one constituting 25,250 acres. Of that, 7,290 acres are designated for what Mooney called “green industrial” uses, primarily centered around existing geothermal infrastructure.

“We really try to create a key component … not just doing the collection, the operation of the imaging facilities, taking the brine out, producing lithium, but actually going into manufacturing.”

Other zones in the plan include logistics hubs, commercial areas, and 8,140 acres of conservation land. Mooney stressed that job diversity and community amenities were built into the proposal. “If we’re going to bring all the employees in, we want to have something that they can do there so they don’t have to leave the site.”

Mooney said the effort is focused on creating “an employment urban hub,” supported by planned investments in broadband, transit, water and wastewater infrastructure. “We are looking at creating a major urban node … that will employ well over 10,000 people in certain aspects.”

The county’s role was presented by Supervisors Chair John Hawk, who stepped in for District 4 Supervisor Ryan Kelley. Hawk made the economic stakes plain.

“Lithium Valley won’t fix all … but it’s the best opportunity we have to move the needle,” Hawk said. “It’s a chance to bring in thousands of jobs, millions in revenue, and real tangible quality-of-life improvements for our residents.”

He estimated that just five potential projects — including development from BHE Renewables, Controlled Thermal Resources and EnergySource Minerals — could generate more than $640 million in tax revenue over 30 years. “For a city like Calipat, that’s the equivalent of more than 4,000 school buses or 125 new high school gyms.”

Still, Hawk warned that California’s environmental permitting process remains an obstacle. “CEQA does not impact developers in any other state except California,” he said, adding, “We do not have unlimited time to make Lithium Valley feasible.”

Representing industry, Rob Moore, chief operating officer of Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR), acknowledged a tough year but said the company is still on track.

Rob Moore, chief operating officer of Controlled Thermal Resources, takes part in the Lithium Valley panel at the Imperial Valley Salton Sea Conference.

“2024 was a tough year for us,” Moore said. “An unfortunate legal case that we’ve been working through … geopolitical activity … market volatility.” Still, he added, “All the indications are that demand for lithium products is still going to increase five to tenfold by 2040.”

Moore explained CTR’s closed-loop process for direct lithium extraction from geothermal brine. He described the equipment and step-by-step processes that attract lithium ions from the existing brine, resulting in lithium chloride, which he compared to sodium chloride — table salt.

That lithium chloride is then converted into lithium hydroxide monohydrate, the form desired by CTR’s customers. “You wash it, clean it to a high purity, and you dry it and crystallize it, bag it, and ship it.”

CTR’s demonstration plant has already achieved a 97 percent recovery rate, Moore said, and a feasibility study from Baker Hughes confirmed that the project was viable at scale.

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