White Gold Rush: Companies look to 2026 for mass lithium production near Salton Sea

Things are moving fast in Lithium Valley, near the Salton Sea.

If you drive along Highway 111 all the way down to the southern end of the Salton Sea, you'll see your usual puffs of white steam, chugging up from the geothermal plants.

But below those clouds, underneath these plants, some ground-breaking developments in the world of lithium and tech. As these companies get closer to mass production – get ready for some big changes to come to the area.

Work is not easy to come by near the Salton Sea.

But for Corban Dillon, a life-changing opportunity has materialized in a place that doesn't have much to offer.

"We were seeing the deficits of housing we have, the deficits of places to eat," said Dillon.

Dillon was selected to intern at Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables, a geothermal and lithium development company near the Salton Sea. He's currently enrolled in a special program at Imperial Valley College, training for the day the lithium plants open their doors.

"I didn't come in with my dress shoes," said Dillon. "I actually came in with my running shoes ready to do this. Once these plants going up, I really have high hopes for myself."

He is one of the hundreds here by the massive lake, finding hope and diving into a career in lithium development. It's an industry that is expected to transform this impoverished region.

"Education is the key to getting people out of poverty," said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, who has been a part of the legislative effort to help create lithium development and tax guidelines governing it. "And there has been a strong emphasis on making sure the educational infrastructure is being developed and prepared to move into the phase of really preparing the people to take on these jobs."

Garcia said the development in Imperial Valley is a gamechanger for not just Southern California but the entire nation in shifting lithium dependence on foreign countries to a domestic supply.

"This is a critical opportunity to bring back manufacturing, to bring back what would be thousands of jobs in an area which align with California's climate and energy goals and objectives," said Garcia.

The area south of Salton Sea in Imperial County is called Lithium Valley. White gold is materializing and the major lithium development companies out here -- Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables (BHE), EnergySource, and Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) – are chugging along their proposed timelines.

When we last checked in in 2021, BHE had said if this were a baseball game they were only in the first inning. But now, in 2024, there has been significant progress.

"I'd say we're closer to 3rd inning now, so we've definitely made some progress. However, I can say confidently we have a winning team," said Christina Fleming, the Vice-President of Development for BHE Renewables.

BHE Renewables owns 10 of the 11 geothermal plants in the region.

The company has the potential to produce up to 90,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent per year -- enough to supply 11million electric vehicle batteries in the same time frame.

"We are currently in a demonstration phase and that is a smaller scale than commercial phase. It allows us to test a number of things to make sure we have successful outcomes before we move to mass production or commercial scale," said Fleming.

And in its latest development, BHE has partnered with Occidental, a lithium extraction technology platform, to utilize the company's technology to extract lithium from brine.

For CTR, the heavy hitters are finally getting flown in.

"We just got back from Japan and are about to take delivery of our steam generator, the steam turbines and generators from fuji electric," said Rod Colwell, the CEO of CTR.

The timelines for these three companies look somewhat similar. For BHE and CTR, the rest of 2024 and in 2025, it's about proving they can scale up in creating a successful demonstration plant. By 2026, if all goes according to plan, they will scale up – and begin to produce lithium on a mass level.

"What you'll start to see now from probably around September onwards, sudden delivery of big heavy, like I mentioned, the 300 tons here and 20 there and you know, a lot of work," said Colwell. "These are a big Lego set and your assembler on one side, so prep. Operation for that is trenching underground services and getting people busy out there."

CTR has said salaries will start at around $80,000.

But the first to produce lithium will likely be EnergySource. The company is starting construction for mass production next year.

The Salton Sea area alone has the estimated potential to provide 40 percent of the lithium used by the world. Lithium -- used in electric vehicles, cell phones and more – holds incredible opportunity in an area that has been lied to before.

"Everybody's hoping, and we're all crossing our fingers and hoping that this great stuff comes about with higher income and all these tax breaks do come back to help us. But, in actuality, within our community as a whole, we've had a lot of promises and broken promises from other industries," said Dillon.

Assemblymember Garcia said he has worked hard to make sure that as these companies profit, so do the surrounding towns. 

"One hundred percent of the tax that will be collected on the lithium that is recovered will be reinvested back into the community, not only to address the Salton Sea problems, but also to address the infrastructure needs of the region," said Garcia.

For the local area, it means jobs, housing development, economic growth and possible generational change.

Dillon says it's all for his kids.

"Being able to say 'Yes' to my children, being able to say 'Yes, I'll be at that game,' 'Yes, I'll be able to provide for you.'" said Dillon. "It's a great feeling and a tremendous relief on my shoulders because I know with all this positivity coming... [it] makes me confident to know my future going to be brighter not just for myself but for generations to come."

For the Coachella Valley, lithium development could mean big industry created to help with the supply chain to the south, with officials envisioning manufacturing, food, and more to help support the bustling industry to come.