The article that the following was copied from is a longer read but I found very interesting. It describes another company coming out of stealth mode with a new way to build lithium ion batteries with a range of big advantages. One of those advantages is very relevant to Salton Sea brine deposits. The way it works might make Phoenix's higher grade brine preferable but I'm only assuming that. I hope this new technology news gets out fast. It could make a big difference to how our resource is valued. Read the full article linked below to better understand how big a deal this could be. If this tech takes hold, brine could hold huge advantages over hard rock.
"As if all of this was not enough, an application of Xerion’s technology also holds tremendous potential as a new, environmentally friendly way to source lithium salts. Xerion and the University of Illinois just won an award from the Department of Energy for the application of its DirectPlate process to extracting lithium salts directly from geothermal brines, such as California’s Salton Sea. Xerion’s direct lithium extraction (DLE) has enormous potential to more efficiently and less expensively extract lithium from a wide range of brines that are readily available in large quantities in North America.You can read a press release about the DoE award, Xerion’s process for removing lithium from geothermal brine, and see an animation of this process here.The take-away from all this is that the process that Xerion has pioneered not only makes lithium-ion batteries better and more useful—thus providing more impetus for clean energy and electrification—but that its innovative technology will make the sourcing of lithium, nickel, and cobalt, and the manufacture of batteries much cleaner as well."
