What the project plans to build
Controlled Thermal Resources wants to pull lithium from hot saltwater deep under Imperial County, California, at a site it calls Hells Kitchen, while using the heat in that same water to generate electricity, a process called geothermal power. Lithium is the metal inside every electric vehicle battery. The newest plan from the company, dated March 2026, targets 650 megawatts of geothermal power and 100,000 metric tons a year of lithium carbonate, a refined chemical form of lithium sold to battery makers, once the project reaches full scale, the size of its finished plan. Reaching that scale happens in stages. The first stage targets 50 megawatts of power and 25,000 metric tons a year of lithium.
Money committed, but no construction yet
The company has spent 185 million dollars on long lead equipment, machinery ordered years ahead of use because it takes that long to build, and says the equipment is staged and ready for construction. Controlled Thermal Resources is combining with Plum Acquisition Corp. IV in a business combination, a deal in which the 2 companies merge into 1 that trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange, expected to close in the second half of 2026, which is now. The combined company carries a planned valuation of 4.7 billion dollars, following more than 285 million dollars in private capital already raised. None of that money has yet built a power plant or opened a mine.
The company describes the private capital raised as more than 285 million dollars. The chart draws 285, the stated floor of that figure. The valuation is a pro forma enterprise valuation for the combined company once the business combination with Plum Acquisition Corp. IV closes, not cash the project holds today. The 4.7 billion dollar figure is converted here to 4,700 in millions of dollars so all 3 bars share one axis.
Show the numbers
| Spent on equipment | 185 |
| Private capital raised | 285 |
| Planned company valuation | 4,700 |
Rod Colwell, chief executive of Controlled Thermal Resources, describes the company as ready to build.
After more than a decade of technical validation, permitting progress, and strategic investment, we believe we are shovel-ready and prepared to deploy competitively at commercial scale.
Rod Colwell, chief executive of Controlled Thermal Resources. Source 1.
A lawsuit delayed the timeline
A lawsuit from project opponents held construction back. A judge dismissed it on January 9, 2025, and the chief executive said afterward that construction would begin within 5 to 6 months. The newest statement instead targets the end of 2026 for the first geothermal power, and lithium mining only after that. No source gives a date for reaching full scale.
California requires a rising share of clean vehicle sales
California requires a rising share of new car and light truck sales to be zero emission or plug in hybrid, meaning cars that produce no tailpipe emissions or that pair a gasoline engine with a plug in battery. The rule was set under Executive Order N-79-20 and is enforced through the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, which the state approved on August 25, 2022. The required share rises from 35% in 2026 to 68% in 2030, then 100% in 2035.
Set under Executive Order N-79-20 and enforced through the Advanced Clean Cars II regulation, approved August 25, 2022.
Show the numbers
| 2026 | 35 |
| 2030 | 68 |
| 2035 | 100 |
Not on a sourced path to 2030
The sourced timeline for Hells Kitchen puts its first lithium after the end of 2026, at a quarter of the scale the project eventually plans to reach, with no sourced date for the rest. The 2030 requirement in California arrives on schedule regardless. The project is a real step toward mining lithium inside the state. Nothing in the 5 sources behind this article puts it on track to meaningfully supply that requirement by 2030.