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The race for lithium - 12th January 2022

In California, the race for lithium is on with a number of companies setting up on the edge of Salton Sea Lake. They are looking to find the most effective and environmentally friendly way to extract this precious metal used in rechargeable batteries.

Up to now, most of the lithium in the US has been imported. One company is hoping to change this by drilling a 2,300 metre deep well to extract the metal. Jim Turner is the chief operating officer of Controlled Thermal Resources.

Jim Turner: "There's not too many lithium sites that are known in North America, but there's a few. This is definitely the largest known here in North America. My guess is this will end up being the largest lithium production site globally once we fully develop it."

As countries move away from the use of fossil fuels and turn towards electric vehicles, demand for lithium is predicted to double by the end of the decade.

Jim Turner: "The lithium produced from here will go into electric vehicle batteries. And so our lithium product will end up for the most part with EVs made in the US might be some made in Europe."

The Salton Sea Lake used to be a popular leisure destination attracting Hollywood celebrities and boat racing fans. However, the lake and its ecosystem have begun to evaporate due to climate change. This has seen toxic dust released causing the highest rates of respiratory illness in the country.

Charles Diamond is part of a team of researchers that regularly conducts tests at the lake to ensure that the activities around lithium extraction do not further exacerbate the situation.

Charles Diamond: "As far as hazards are concerned, I don't know of really any hazards that exist specific to this type of lithium exploration that don't already exist for geothermal power production."