NEWSWEEK - A massive lithium discovery beneath California's Salton Sea has set off a high-stakes push for what some have implied could be America's best shot at lithium self-sufficiency.
The U.S. Department of Energy confirmed in late 2023 that an estimated 18 million metric tons of lithium—often called "white gold" on account of its silvery-white appearance and economic importance—valued at roughly $540 billion is trapped in the geothermal brine beneath the Salton Sea, a shrinking lake in Southern California's Imperial Valley.
The find is one of the largest known lithium brine deposits in the world and could supply enough material for 375 million electric vehicle batteries, potentially making the U.S. self-sufficient in the critical mineral used in batteries, smartphones and renewable energy storage.
"The current geothermal power plants in the field have the capacity to produce 115,000 metric tons per year of [lithium carbonate equivalent], enough to make almost 4 million EVs annually Michael McKibben, of the University of California, Riverside's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, told Newsweek.