- [Narrator] Underneath the
Salton Sea's toxic lake bed is an estimated 18 million
metric tons of lithium suspended in hot geothermal brine. (brine splashing) That's enough to power more
than 375 million EV batteries. California's largest lake has the world's biggest
concentration of lithium in geothermal brine, which could make the US
self-sufficient in the mineral. It's a revival for the area, which was a thriving vacation
spot until the 1960s. - [Announcer] The miracle
sea in the desert, the Salton Sea. - [Narrator] But today, the shrinking lake is an environmental disaster, leaving behind toxic dust in the surrounding
desert community, still. - The Salton Sea region presents a once-in-a-generation
opportunity. - [Narrator] But seizing
that opportunity isn't easy. Getting to all that lithium
requires new tech, like this, to stand up against the
corrosive conditions. At stake is hundreds of billions
of dollars worth of lithium and thousands of white-collar jobs. Here's how companies are
racing to develop new ways to extract lithium from this toxic lake, and whether that will provide
a lifeline or be a threat to the surrounding Imperial Valley. (dramatic music) - This resource is really
high up there in terms of both sustainability
and scalability as well. - [Narrator] David Deak leads
strategy and development at EnergySource Minerals, one of three companies competing to extract
lithium at the Salton Sea. Inside this non-descript
shipping container is the pilot version of the tech that could give this area new life. Part of what makes the Salton Sea unique is its huge reserve of geothermal brine, a mix of superheated salty
water rich in minerals. That geothermal brine has
been mined for green energy since the 1980s, but companies are now eyeing something even more valuable
than steam power, lithium. EnergySource is developing a
less resource-intensive way to extract it from the brine. Right now, most of the world's lithium is extracted from
Australia's open pit mines or South America's evaporation ponds. Both processes are water-intensive and can create a lot of
contamination and waste. The new method is called Direct
Lithium Extraction or DLE, and it adds just a few steps to the geothermal energy generation already happening at the Salton Sea. Once that geothermal energy is pulled out, the brine is deposited
back into the reservoir. - But what we're working on is a process for which we
intercept that return process where we will then extract lithium and turn that into product. - [Narrator] Lithium
extraction begins here, where brine is passed to this machine full of plastic tubes and columns carrying what's called an absorbent. - This is our secret sauce. The way it works is that it's a very high
surface area material. Think of it as sort of like a sponge that's selectively absorbing
lithium and nothing else. - [Narrator] In those same columns, the company strips the lithium out of the absorbent with water. - We are comfortably extracting over 90% of the lithium that comes out. - [Narrator] That's double what
can be extracted from brine using more traditional methods
like evaporation ponds. The final product is this clear solution, purified lithium chloride. - We can further process
this into a solid product that we can package and
send out to battery makers and EV producers. - [Narrator] The company
plans to start building the commercial facility in 2024, with commercial lithium
production beginning in 2027. Once it's built, EnergySource
source expects to process 20,000 metric tons of lithium every year, enough for half a million
EV batteries alone. Ford has already signed on
to buy some of that supply. While EnergySource is
gearing up to go commercial, there's competition on its heels. Berkshire Hathaway
Energy currently operates 10 of the 11 geothermal
plants around the Salton Sea. - They own most of the resource and they will dominate, eventually the production
of lithium down here. - [Narrator] Meanwhile, a third player, Controlled Thermal Resources
is working to catch up. Unlike the other two companies, CTR doesn't currently own or
operate a geothermal plant. But in January, it began construction on the first phase of
its lithium facilities, which will produce 25,000 tons of lithium product every year, that's more than four times the amount the US currently produces. All this interest has
turned the area into. - What we refer to as the
Saudi Arabia of lithium. - [Narrator] Right now,
the US makes less than 1% of the world's total lithium supply, most of which is mined in Nevada. The Salton Sea's reserves could transform domestic production. They are estimated to
contain enough lithium to ultimately produce nearly
half of current global output. - It is used in everything
from electric vehicle batteries to battery storage to cell phones, and so the opportunity to potentially recover
lithium in such a high volume is of particular interest. - [Narrator] It's taken
years to get to this point, and it will still be years before any lithium production
begins at a commercial scale. - This type of brine that
comes from this region, it is highly mineralized. Many elements of the periodic table you will find in this
brine and it's very hot, which means that it could
be quite a corrosive brine. A lot of this tubing and
processing is done with plastics or with special non-corrosive metals. - [Narrator] The drying Salton Sea itself, makes extraction even more difficult. - 10 years ago, the water was
up to the edge of the volcano and it's now receded
off into the distance. - [Narrator] Since 1999, the Salton Sea has shrunk by more than 30%. The receding shorelines fueled by drought, have decimated the region's ecosystems and exposed more than 30,000
acres of toxic lake bed. - The current sea, which
formed in the early 1900s, has been maintained largely
due to agricultural runoff, but associated with that
runoff are pesticides and fertilizer components. It's this material that gets airborne and generates dust that creates asthma problems in children and the elderly. - [Narrator] That toxic
dust is laced with bacteria, heavy metals, and carcinogens like DDT, threatening the community
and growing workforce that a multi-billion
dollar lithium industry would bring to the region. - In order for the lithium economy to be successful down here, they need to have a healthy workforce. You don't wanna bring in a workforce that's gonna have chronic
asthma all the time. - [Narrator] Some Imperial
Valley residents are concerned lithium extraction could worsen the region's environmental issues. Right now, it's unclear how operations could
affect health problems. That's why some community
leaders like Luis Olmedo, say, "The lithium industry
should spearhead efforts to tackle the toxic dust." Olmedo is the executive director
of Comite Civico del Valle, a nonprofit that advocates
for environmental justice. - We're predominantly
communities of Color, farm-working communities,
low-income communities. Part of our role is to make sure that there are fair and
equitable negotiations. - [Narrator] Imperial
County has the highest unemployment rate in California, and nearly a quarter of
children live in poverty. But jobs in the lithium industry promise a new way of making ends meet. Imperial County estimates
the industry could bring as many as 81,000 jobs to the region. While the lithium industry
could bring an economic boost, water use remains a concern in a region that receives just three
inches of rainfall each year. - The main use of water
in the Imperial Valley is for agriculture. If we wanna have a successful
lithium industry here, we've gotta make sure some of that water gets
used for lithium processing. - [Narrator] In January,
Comite Civico del Valle filed a notice of intent to sue the County after it approved the plans for Controlled Thermal Resources'
new lithium facilities. Overuse of Colorado River
water and industry pollution, were two of the key complaints. In a statement, the County said, that, "Since the beginning
of Lithium Valley, it has worked to guarantee
that residents and communities directly benefit from the economic and environmental advancements
these developments herald." As momentum for lithium extraction builds, community leaders want to see written agreements from companies on their community commitments. - We want them to be
able to do business here, but everyone in this community that is doing business here needs to do their own investments and making sure they
mitigate their pollution. - [Narrator] In a step towards ensuring the community benefits, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation allowing Imperial County to tax every metric ton
of lithium produced. The majority of the revenue is slated for Salton Sea restoration and community benefit projects. Amid the promises of a lithium gold rush, the future of the dwindling
Salton Sea remains less certain. While there are plans in place to tackle some of the region's toxic dust, they aren't a long-term fix. - We have the greatest economic
opportunity in our history, to be able to turn up
enough supply of lithium for this entire country and the world, but we can only accomplish success if we have mitigation, if
we have community benefits. (dramatic music)
