The Biden administration has called for boosting domestic production of such minerals, including lithium for the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.
A few miles from the shores of California’s Salton Sea, a construction crew is at work on the future site of Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power.
This facility, run by the Australian company Controlled Thermal Resources, will someday produce enough geothermal energy to power 1.1 million homes.
This has created a public health issue as the exposed lakebed subjects nearby communities to toxic dust rising from its surface.
In South American countries such as Chile and Argentina, it’s concentrated through large evaporation ponds that take up lots of water.
“They’re pumping the groundwater out, and that causes problems with the groundwater table.
Lithium is in such high demand globally that it’s now being called “white gold,” says Mihri Ozkan, an expert on lithium batteries also at UC Riverside.
Last week, a dozen states including California asked President Biden to order all-zero-emission car sales by 2035.
Rod Colwell’s company, Controlled Thermal Resources, does not have an agreement to sell lithium yet.