Agricultural runoff and sky-high salt levels have become synonymous with the area since then. The lithium itself is not found in the water but in geothermal deposits. There’s so much of it that officials have dubbed the area Lithium Valley. Of course, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electrified models like the 2022Lexus NX Hybrid.
“If Joe Biden wants to make batteries in America for the electrification of our vehicle fleets, this is your only shot at scale,” said Danny Kennedy in reference to the Salton Sea. Kennedy is the chief energy officer at New Energy Nexus, a nonprofit group promoting clean power.
Currently, most lithium in EV batteries comes from China, Australia, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The US could be added to that list with the Salton Sea project.