The hot brine located in a vast underground reserve beneath the Salton Sea likely contains enough lithium to build batteries for 375 million electric vehicles,according to a new report released Tuesday.
The report from Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory and funded by the Energy Department represents the first time researchers have thoroughly quantified how much lithium might be present in the underground reserve.
Researchers found that an estimated 18 million metric tons of lithium carbonate is likely available in the large underground pool, which isn’t connected to the Salton Sea.
That large of a lithium deposit could “enable the United States to meet or exceed global lithium demand for decades,” according to a press release from the Department of Energy.
The analysis confirms the region has significant potential as a domestic source of this critical mineral used in batteries for stationary storage and EVs, both of which are crucial to the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
“Lithium is vital to decarbonizing the economy and meeting President Biden’s goals of 50% electric vehicle adoption by 2030,” said Jeff Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “This report confirms the once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a domestic lithium industry at home while also expanding clean, flexible electricity generation. Using American innovation, we can lead the clean energy future, create jobs and a strong domestic supply chain, and boost our national energy security.”
The United States currently has limited capabilities to extract, refine, and produce domestically sourced lithium, meaning nearly all lithium for U.S. needs must be imported. Geothermal brines, which are a byproduct of geothermal electricity generation, often have high concentrations of minerals like lithium and zinc. While exact concentrations of these minerals depend on the location and surrounding geology, the use of direct lithium extraction (DLE) from geothermal brines offers a promising opportunity to couple clean, renewable electricity with a source of domestic lithium. Findings of the analysis are based on the ability to access the entire Salton Sea geothermal reservoir for electricity production, as well as the ability to fully extract lithium resources from resulting geothermal brines.
The Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area (KGRA) has about 400 megawatts (MW) of geothermal electricity-generation capacity installed and is estimated to have the potential for up to 2,950 MW, leaving extensive room to increase geothermal electricity generation while accessing more of the region’s available lithium resources—enabling the United States to meet or exceed global lithium demand for decades. The study also assessed environmental impacts of lithium extraction, including water use, air emissions, and solid waste, and engaged the surrounding community for listening sessions and other discussions to ensure consideration for local concerns and ideas.
The report mentioned comes from Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
Earth and Environmental Sciences – Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Resource at the Salton Sea:
Specifically, expanding geothermal energy production and lithium extraction will have a modest impact on water availability in the region. Initial estimates suggested that ~3% of historically available water supply for the region would be needed for currently proposed geothermal energy and lithium recovery operations; the majority of current water usage is for agriculture. It is not anticipated that expanding geothermal capacity or lithium production would impact the availability or quality of water used for human consumption and will not directly affect the water quality of the Salton Sea.
However, the long-term drought conditions in the western United States may restrict future availability of water to the region, which is sourced from the Colorado River. In terms of regional air emissions of all pollutants identified in the analysis (particulate matter, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and benzene, expanding geothermal energy and adding lithium extraction overall have a small impact. Chemical use involved in geothermal power production and lithium extraction is consistent with chemical use in industrial settings, and the analysis did not identify any persistent organic pollutants or acutely toxic chemicals among those currently being used.
Moving fluids within the subsurface can impact subsurface pressures and stresses, potentially triggering seismic activity. Early in geothermal energy production, increasing seismicity rates in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field correlated strongly with energy production activity; however, that correlation weakened after 1996. Even following the onset of geothermal energy production, seismic hazard in the Salton Sea Geothermal Field has not increased beyond that of the surrounding region.
Desert Sun again:
“This is pretty significant, it makes this among the largest lithium brine deposits in the world,” said Michael McKibben, a geochemistry professor from UC Riverside who was among the 22 authors who worked on the report. “This could make the U.S. completely self-sufficient in lithium so we’re no longer importing it via China.”
In an emailed statement to The Desert Sun, Controlled Thermal Resources CEO Rod Colwell said the report “substantiates the robustness and scale of the Salton Sea resource” and “confirms much larger lithium reserves than originally thought.” Controlled Thermal Resources is one of three companies working on projects to extract lithium at commercial scale near the Salton Sea.
Currently, most of the lithium found in electric car batteries in the U.S. originates in South America, then is transported to China to make batteries.
Based on the portion of the geothermal reservoir that’s already been drilled out, researchers know there are at least 4 million tons of lithium in that portion of the brine. The 18 million figure comes from extrapolating what would be possible if the rest of the reservoir was drilled out to produce more geothermal power.
That would be enough for roughly 375 million electric car batteries, according to the Department of Energy – more than the total number of vehicles currently on U.S. roads
The Salton Sea is one case where the toxic environment exists before mining is established.
The blowing dust is noxious enough that the families that live there should move out, and the area should be treated like a remote work site (Antarctica research base, drilling rig at sea, submarine projects) with only healthy adults with adequate protection working there. (Sorry, mayor, but it would be bad to expose more people of any age to that nasty lakebed dust.)
Oh Lithium, oh Lithium, say have you met Lithium?
Lithium, the TAH — ttooed halide!
This crossed my radar a month or so ago, I’ve been waiting to see more
Not sure I got my finger on it quite right, but it appears the brine is somewhat self-perpetuating, that not only is it a game-changer as a resource but may be somewhat renewable. Which makes perfect sense when you put your physics hat on
The drawback is massive infrastructure … it must be mined