September 15, 2025: Energy tech firm Baker Hughes and Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) said on September 9 they will develop 500 MW of geothermal power in California’s ‘Lithium Valley’ region.
The partners have entered into definitive agreements for the project to deliver 24/7 baseload energy for AI and hyperscale datacenters at CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen site in the state — where the firm is developing geothermal, battery-grade lithium chemicals and critical minerals.
Hell’s Kitchen, at Salton Sea, is where CTR is working to recover lithium from geothermal brines using renewable energy and steam to produce battery grade lithium products.
Under the terms of the agreements, Baker Hughes said it will deploy high-temperature drilling technologies, power systems, and digital field services to bring scalable, cost-effective, and high-reliability geothermal energy to market.
According to the partners geothermal energy, unlike intermittent renewables, runs at capacity factors above 98%, making it uniquely suited to power AI clusters and datacenters that require uninterrupted operations.
CTR chief executive officer Rod Colwell said the project was needed because intermittent renewable power sources alone could not feed hyperscale datacenters and energy-hungry AI systems.
“Baker Hughes has built its reputation on delivering world-class services and is blazing a trail to advance geothermal development in the US.”
Colwell said CTR’s technologies and experience represented game changers for the energy sector.
CTR’s has already secured a 40 MW power purchase agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District and lithium supply agreements from Hell’s Kitchen with US auto manufacturers.
The company has a conditional use permit to start the first stage of construction activities at the site and long-lead equipment has been built and staged for construction.
The project is designated as a ‘FAST-41’ project, which aims to streamline environmental reviews to speed-up federal permitting approvals.
If fully permitted, the project would be one of the world’s largest geothermal power and critical minerals hubs.
California governor Gavin Newsom said the state, together with companies such as CTR, envisage Lithium Valley becoming a “global source of critical minerals while also powering a new economic boom for the region”.
