County scores big with lithium development
EL CENTRO – Waves of excitement coursed through Imperial County on Tuesday after an international firm announced plans to leverage the area’s planned lithium-extraction industry to establish a battery manufacturing plant near Calipatria that could create up to 2,500 jobs.
News first broke late morning during the county Board of Supervisors meeting and by early afternoon congratulatory statements were being issued.
“The county is encouraged by this major milestone for our region and believes this is another step towards fulfilling the potential of Lithium Valley for a better and brighter Imperial County,” stated board Chairman Jesus Eduardo Escobar.
The hope in recent years has been that Imperial County’s fledgling lithium- extraction industry would be a jobs multiplier by spurring companion operations in the green energy economy. Future generations may view Tuesday as a landmark day for that effort.
“Imperial County welcomes this announcement and is ready to have conversations with all supply-chain elements of critical mineral and battery production to continue this momentum,” added Supervisor Ryan Kelley, vice chair of the county’s Lithium Valley Commission, whose District 4 includes the geothermal hotbed in the Calipatria area.
The Imperial Irrigation District, which provides water and electric power to the area, is equally enthusiastic, board President James C. Hanks said.
“We are certainly pleased with this excellent news. It’s in line with the tremendous potential for lithium development and geothermal power in the Imperial Valley,” he said. “IID remains committed to supporting Controlled Thermal Resources and other developers in this work. We are encouraged that this can be developed to its full potential.”
Lithium is the mineral used in the batteries of electric vehicles and it is found in abundance in the scalding water pumped from the ground to generate electricity at the county’s numerous geothermal plants. Several firms have plans to build plants to capture and process the mineral, among them Controlled Thermal Resources.
Lars Carlstrom, the founder and chief executive officer of the Italy-based firm, Italvolt, on Tuesday announced the launching of a new firm, Statevolt, which would build the battery plant. Statevolt also
immediately inked a letter of intent with CTR.
“Under the terms of the LOI, CTR will deliver sustainable, locally produced lithium and geothermal power from the company’s to-be constructed Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power development (near Calipatria),” a Statevolt press release stated.
“Statevolt is currently undertaking due diligence to determine the best location
on which to build its facility. Once fully operational, the gigafactory will be one of largest in North America, with a battery production capacity of 54GWh, serving around 650,000 electric vehicles a year at full capacity,” the release added.
Italvolt is also building a lithium-battery gigafactory in Italy, according to the firm’s website.
While two firms that