Controlled Thermal Resources

Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) is developing the "Hell's Kitchen" project in Imperial County, California - the world's first fully integrated geothermal energy and critical minerals extraction facility. Located within the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area, one of the planet's hottest and most lithium-rich geothermal fields (reservoir temperatures up to 734°F / 390°C), CTR taps deep geothermal brine simultaneously for clean baseload power generation and Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE). The process uses adsorption technology to recover lithium from the brine with 95-97% recovery rates, then refines it on-site into battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide - entirely without overseas processing, open-pit mining, or evaporation ponds. Beyond lithium, CTR is targeting a portfolio of polymetallics including zinc, manganese, and potash from the same brine stream.

The scale of the resource is extraordinary. A 2023 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory assessment estimates the Salton Sea Geothermal Reservoir contains 4.1 million metric tonnes of proven lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and 18 million metric tonnes of probable LCE - enough to supply hundreds of millions of EV batteries domestically. CTR's Stage 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (completed by Baker Hughes) supports a 30-year operating life with 0.9 Mt of probable lithium hydroxide monohydrate reserves. The company has signed a Power Purchase Agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District, broken ground on its lithium campus in January 2024, and partnered with Baker Hughes for a 500 MW geothermal power expansion to serve surging data center and AI demand.

CTR is strategically critical to the US energy supply chain at two levels. First, it offers a domestic, environmentally low-impact source of lithium - a mineral the US currently imports almost entirely from overseas - directly supporting EV battery manufacturing and grid storage. Second, its clean, firm geothermal power provides 24/7 baseload electricity that can anchor a co-located battery and technology manufacturing campus in the Imperial Valley. With major automaker investments from General Motors (2021) and Stellantis ($100M+, 2023), FAST-41 federal permitting designation, and a March 2026 SPAC deal with Plum Acquisition Corp. IV valuing the company at $4.7 billion, CTR is poised to become a cornerstone of America's domestic critical minerals and clean energy independence strategy.