Controlled Thermal Resources Holdings Inc. (CTR) broke ground on its fully integrated lithium and renewable power production facility as part of its multi-billion-dollar clean energy precinct – the Lithium Valley Campus.

The $1.85-billion development—the first of seven project stages—includes a clean energy geothermal power plant integrated with a lithium production facility, which is expected to produce 25,000 metric tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate each year, supporting the annual production of approximately 415,000 electric vehicles.

Construction commencement of the company’s first project stage is central to CTR‘s larger vision for the Lithium Valley Campus, which includes the co-location of specialized battery material manufacturers onsite to enable direct access to CTR’s clean lithium and renewable baseload electricity. Bringing together multiple industries essential to battery manufacture in one location will transform the current fragmented and carbon-intensive battery supply chain and create an estimated 480 good-paying union construction jobs and, ultimately, thousands of clean energy jobs in the community.

The groundbreaking comes two months after the Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released its report confirming California’s Salton Sea Geothermal Field as one of the largest lithium brine resources in the world with a resource capacity to support production of 382 million electric vehicle batteries. (Earlier post.)

General Motors’ early identification of the Salton Sea as a sustainable domestic lithium resource and its support and alliance with CTR have been some of the fundamental driving forces behind the development’s success to date.

With approvals to start construction, CTR expects to commence delivery of lithium from its first development stage by 2025. CTR’s leadership team has successfully developed and managed geothermal operations in California’s Salton Sea region for 30+ years. This highly specialized knowledge has been instrumental in advancing CTR’s projects.