New energy industry has received some big news: Buffett is investing more in the upstream key materials of new energy auto industry chain - lithium; Buffett's heavily invested Occidental Petroleum, along with his Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE), announced the establishment of a joint venture to extract lithium from geothermal brine.
On June 6th, Cailian Press reported that Buffett has new actions!
Recently, there is another big news in the new energy industry: Buffett is increasing investment in upstream key materials of the new energy auto industry chain - lithium.
On Tuesday EST, Occidental Petroleum Company, which is heavily held by Buffett, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (BHE) under Buffett announced the establishment of a joint venture to collaborate on testing and deploying the technology of extracting lithium from geothermal brine. Occidental Petroleum will work with BHE to test and deploy the geothermal lithium extraction technology.
Occidental Petroleum will cooperate with BHE to test and deploy geothermal lithium extraction.
Currently, BHE Renewables, a subsidiary of BHE, operates 10 geothermal power plants in the Imperial Valley 250 kilometers east of San Diego in California, producing 345 megawatts of clean energy. The company claims that these facilities process 50,000 gallons of "lithium-rich brine" every minute.
At the same time, TerraLithium, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, owns the direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology patent, which can convert lithium-rich brine into high-purity lithium.
Currently, TerraLithium is conducting tests on BHE Renewables' geothermal facilities in the Imperial Valley to determine whether the technology can produce lithium in an "eco-friendly manner".
If the test is successful, Buffett's BHE Renewables plans to build a commercial lithium production facility in the Imperial Valley of California. In addition, they plan to expand to areas outside the Imperial Valley under the joint venture of Occidental Petroleum and BHE Renewables.
The two giants are teaming up.
Alicia Knapp, CEO of BHE Renewables, said at Tuesday's press conference: "We are excited to work with Occidental Petroleum to seize this incredible opportunity and make the Imperial Valley a global leader in lithium production."
Richard Jackson, President of U.S. Onshore Resources and Carbon Management at Occidental Petroleum, said in a press release: "By leveraging our expertise in managing and treating brine in the oil and gas and chemical industries, together with BHE Renewables' extensive knowledge of geothermal business, we are uniquely positioned to advance more sustainable lithium production."
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy wrote in a report that extracting lithium from geothermal brines may be a "method of bringing domestic lithium to market while minimizing environmental impacts during power generation."
The U.S. Department of Energy pointed out that identified large lithium resources are mainly located in the Salton Sea area of the Imperial Valley in southern California.
However, despite a 6% increase in spot prices of lithium carbonate this year, lithium prices are still far below the historical high of over $80,000 per tonne since 2022. In early June 2021, the spot price of lithium carbonate was about $14,200 per tonne.