GTO Supporting Six Laboratory Projects for Critical Materials Research
Geothermal Technologies Office
July 31, 2024
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The Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) has selected seven projects at four U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories to receive more than $6 million for research and development that can directly aid in advancing and developing U.S. critical material supply chains. Critical materials such as minerals and rare earth elements are important for products including computers, smartphones, household appliances, and clean energy technologies like batteries and electric vehicles. Geothermal brines, which are a byproduct of geothermal electricity generation, often have high concentrations of minerals like lithium and zinc.
The seven selected national laboratory projects will characterize lithium and critical materials in areas beyond California’s Salton Sea region, improve understanding of how to better break down and release minerals from rocks in geothermal reservoirs, and advance drilling materials to better access geothermal resource areas where critical materials may be located. GTO is collaborating with DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) and Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), given joint interest in diversifying the domestic supply of critical materials from geothermal and oil and gas reservoirs throughout the United States.
The selected labs and projects are:
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) | Salton Sea Characterization and Modeling of the Partitioning of Li and other Critical Minerals in the Deep Superhot Portions of the Salton Sea Geothermal Field Reservoir |
| Lithium Resources in the Smackover Formation – Quantification – Origin – Natural and Engineered Lithium Cycle (LiRe – Smac) | |
| Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) | Supercritical Drilling Material Analysis: Current Practices, Technological Gaps, and Recommendations |
| Combined Analysis of Lithium Brines and Thermal Energy (CALiBrATE) Resources | |
| Idaho National Laboratory (INL) | Characterization of Li and Other Critical Materials of Smackover Formation, Louisiana |
| Characterizing and Estimating Reserves of Li and Other Critical Minerals in Paradox Basin, Utah (FECM) | |
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | Lithium Geospatial Analysis and Resource Assessment in the Smackover Geothermal Fairway (LiGRAS) (joint with AMMTO) |