"As a new graduate student embarking on a master’s degree at the UC Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute in 2018, Meg Slattery was struck by how centrally batteries – particularly the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in electric cars – figured into California’s decarbonization strategy. 

But to put tens of millions of electric cars on American roads, battery manufacturers will need more lithium. That’s a challenge for the United States, which has just one active lithium mine in Nevada. U.S. lithium production supplies less than 2% of the world’s lithium supply, with most of the lithium produced by South America and Australia. Critics say that mining lithium from hard rock harms the environment, disturbs sacred tribal lands, and damages fragile ecosystems. 

Researchers believe one solution may lie in the Salton Sea geothermal field. This volcanic area in Southern California’s Imperial Valley sits atop enough lithium to supply all of America’s domestic battery needs, plus extra for export."

Read the full story at Berkeley Lab News