Congressman Ruiz and Imperial Valley Leaders Discuss the Future of Lithium Valley in Washington

Washington, D.C. –Today, CongressmanRaul Ruiz (CA-25) attended Benchmarks Giga + USA. The two-day event explored the rise of USA’s lithium-ion battery gigafactory economy and the need to build secure, sustainable supply chains for lithium, nickel, graphite, cobalt, manganese, rare earths, and other critical raw materials.

Congressman Ruiz’s panel was titled, “Building a Vertically Integrated Lithium Ecosystem,” and he was joined by Jesus Eduardo Escobar, Supervisor, County of Imperial, Ryan Kelley, Supervisor, County of Imperial, and moderated by Bari Bean, Deputy CEO of Natural Resources and Lithium Ombudsman, County of Imperial.

“Today’s event is yet another indicator that we have an incredible opportunity with Lithium Valley. The area holds one of the largest known lithium reserves in the U.S., and we have the chance to extract it in a way that’s cleaner and more sustainable, using a closed-loop system that pulls lithium from geothermal brine with minimal environmental impact,” said Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz (CA-25). “The Department of Energy has found that this region could produce enough lithium to power millions of electric vehicles, which would help drive our transition to a clean energy economy and create good-paying jobs in the Imperial Valley.”