Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) and technology partner Lilac Solutions are developing a lithium extraction pilot facility at one of the world’s largest known geothermal resources at the Salton Sea in Imperial Valley, Calif.
The companies are deploying Lilac’s proprietary ion exchange technology, which recently received a $20 million funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures — a $1 billion fund backed by Bill Gates and other global business leaders, including Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma and Michael Bloomberg.
“This significant investment in Lilac’s technology creates further confidence in the sector and will greatly assist the scale-up of sustainable lithium projects in the United States,” said Rod Colwell, CEO of Controlled Thermal Resources. “It’s a real turning point for the U.S. lithium industry.”=
Lilac’s founder and CEO Dave Snydacker said the company has conducted numerous large-scale tests on brine samples from around the world and receiv
