From Brine to Battery: The Rise of Hell’s Kitchen

Baker Hughes and CTR team up at the Salton Sea to unite geothermal energy and lithium for U.S. energy independence

28 Oct 2025

A deep shift in America’s energy story is unfolding beneath California’s Salton Sea. Baker Hughes and Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) have joined forces in a venture that could fuse two of the country’s most critical resources, geothermal power and lithium, into one transformative enterprise.

Their partnership, announced in September 2025, centers on CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen project, a site capable of producing up to 500 megawatts of clean, constant power while extracting lithium from the same geothermal brine. The approach promises both carbon-free electricity and a homegrown supply of a mineral vital to batteries, electric vehicles, and data centers.

For Baker Hughes, a company long rooted in oil and gas technology, the project signals a bold turn. Its expertise in high-temperature drilling and real-time monitoring now fuels a cleaner cause. “We’re applying proven technologies to open new frontiers in clean energy,” a company executive said. CTR’s CEO, Rod Colwell, called the collaboration “a leap forward for American innovation and energy security.”

Geothermal energy has long been the quiet cousin of wind and solar, steady but underused. Yet the Salton Sea, often dubbed the “Lithium Valley,” could change that. Past efforts faltered under high costs and technical hurdles, but new federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act may help turn ambition into action.

If Hell’s Kitchen succeeds, it could offer a model for pairing renewable generation with critical mineral recovery, a one-two punch that strengthens U.S. supply chains and reduces reliance on imports.

The challenges remain real: corrosive fluids, environmental safeguards, and the sheer scale of investment. Still, optimism is rising. Many in the industry see this partnership as the start of a geothermal renaissance, one that could power not just homes but the engines of America’s digital future.