USA, California: Berkshire Hathaway Energy Licenses the Right to Extract Lithium from its Salton Sea Geothermal Plants

Buffett’s lithium venture promises secure supply for US carmakers (Financial Times)

UPDATE (11 am PST): Berkshire Hathaway Energy has denied the Financial Times report.

Berkshire Hathaway’s geothermal wells could produce up to 90,000 tonnes a year

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has made a move into lithium, holding talks over an agreement to allow extraction of the battery mineral from its geothermal wells in California.

The venture hopes to produce up to 90,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year from Berkshire’s Salton Sea geothermal plants, worth $1.5bn at current prices, according to a fundraising document.

It has been in discussions to supply Tesla with lithium, a component for batteries to power electric cars, said people familiar with the company.

If successful, the project could offer US carmakers and battery producers a secure supply of the metal, reducing reliance on the handful of large producers in Chile and Australia. The only current US supply comes from the Silver Peak mine in Nevada, run by Albemarle.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy has licensed the right to extract lithium from its 10 geothermal facilities in the Salton Sea to a newly formed company, Salton Sea Industries, which is initially looking to raise $20m in a private placement. The project will eventually cost $2.5bn, the company estimates.

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