California’s lithium reserves might energy 375 million EV batteries, say researchers – pv journal Worldwide

The new brine in an unlimited underground reserve underneath the Salton Sea in California most likely incorporates sufficient lithium to construct 375 million batteries for electrical automobiles (EVs), in response to “Characterizing the Geothermal Lithium Useful resource on the Salton Sea,” a brand new report by the US Division of Power’s Lawrence Berkeley Nationwide Laboratory. The researchers tried to totally quantify the quantity of lithium that the deep subsurface geothermal reservoir of the lake might include.

The examine additionally notes the benefit that such a lithium extraction is accompanied by the manufacturing of geothermal vitality, which mixes the manufacturing of renewable vitality with the technology of supplies to advertise the event of electrical automobiles.

“This is without doubt one of the largest lithium brine deposits on the earth,” stated Michael McKibben, a geochemistry professor on the College of California, Riverside, and one of many report’s 22 authors. “This might make america fully self-sufficient in lithium and cease importing it via China.”

The Salton Sea Geothermal Useful resource Space presently has roughly 400 MW of geothermal technology capability put in, and is estimated to have the potential for as much as 2,950 MW. It’s estimated that the presently proposed geothermal vitality and lithium restoration operations would require round 3% of the traditionally out there water within the area.

The land beneath the Salton Sea is owned by three entities: the federal authorities, the Imperial Irrigation District of California and the Cahuilla Indians of the Torres Martínez Desert.

In January 2023, electrical automobile battery maker Statevolt acquired 135 acres in Imperial Valley, California, close to the Salton Sea, the place it plans to construct a 54 GWh lithium-ion battery gigafactory, able to producing sufficient batteries to energy 650,000 electrical automobiles per yr.