Double the Value - How Geothermal Plants Can Unlock Dual Revenue
Unlock new revenue streams by turning geothermal brine into lithium - and profits.
From Power to Potential: A Hidden Opportunity Beneath Our Feet
In a quiet valley in Nevada, a geothermal plant operator stood at the edge of their facility, watching the steam rise from the ground as it had for decades. Beneath their feet, superheated brine coursed through the Earth's crust - spinning turbines, generating clean electricity, and keeping lights on across nearby towns.
But something had changed.
Rising demand for lithium - fueled by electric vehicles, energy storage, and the global push for a net-zero future - was shining a new light on this old heat source. Researchers discovered that geothermal brine, the same fluid used to produce geothermal energy, was potentially rich in lithium. Suddenly, this was not just a power plant. It was a potential goldmine.
The operator pulled out their phone, opened their calculator app, and punched in some quick numbers. Electricity revenue? Still solid. But lithium? That could be worth a lot - a dual-revenue operation hiding in plain sight.
Now, geothermal plants worldwide are beginning to ask the same question: What if we could generate power and extract critical minerals from the same well?
Current State of Geothermal Economics
In 2024, global electricity demand surged by 4.3%, far outpacing GDP growth (3.2%) and marking one of the largest annual increases ever recorded outside of economic rebound years. Driven by electrification, industrial expansion, and the rise of AI and data centers, this trend shows no signs of slowing.
Geothermal energy, with its reliability and low emissions, remains a critical piece of the clean energy puzzle. But despite its strengths, it still accounts for only a modest share of global generation.
Why? The economics, especially for new projects, have traditionally been challenging. Geothermal developments require significant upfront investment, with drilling alone making up as much as 50% of total project costs. Subsurface risk and long payback periods have made it more challenging to compete with modular, lower-cost technologies like solar PV, which accounted for nearly 80% of the 700 GW of new renewable capacity added in 2024.
At the same time, many existing geothermal plants face their challenges: aging infrastructure, plateauing revenue, and increasing pressure to improve performance and margins in a highly competitive energy market.
But that story is beginning to change.
Thanks to advances in lithium recovery technology for geothermal energy companies, geothermal operations - whether new or decades old - can now unlock a powerful second revenue stream. Many geothermal reservoirs contain lithium-rich brines, a byproduct of energy production that typically goes untapped. With the right technology, operators can extract lithium without interrupting power generation.
This opens the door to a new economic model: dual-revenue geothermal operations producing clean power and one of the most critical minerals powering the energy transition.
It is not just about staying relevant – it is about unlocking the full potential of the resources you already manage.
Geothermal energy has always been undervalued - not because of what it lacks, but because of what we haven’t yet unlocked.
Lithium: A Second Revenue Stream
The global race for lithium is officially underway - and geothermal plants may hold one of the cleanest, most overlooked sources of it.
Lithium is essential to modern life. It powers everything from electric vehicles and smartphones to grid-scale energy storage. As governments and automakers push for decarbonization, the demand for lithium is skyrocketing. In fact, global demand is expected to increase 6.5x by 2034 compared to 2023 levels.
That demand has exposed a problem: traditional lithium mining is slow, water-intensive, and environmentally controversial. Hard rock mining and large-scale evaporation ponds are associated with high carbon footprints, significant land use, and lengthy development timelines - often spanning 5–15 years from discovery to production.
Geothermal brine offers a smarter path.
Already flowing through geothermal plants for power generation, this superheated fluid can contain significant concentrations of dissolved lithium, sometimes 100–400 mg/L or more, depending on the geology. It is a resource that is already being pumped, already on site, and often reinjected without extracting its full potential.
With advanced lithium recovery technology, geothermal energy companies can now convert this underutilized byproduct into a second revenue stream.
The best part? It does not require stopping or even slowing down power generation. The extraction process runs in parallel with energy production, opening up an entirely new business case for both existing and future geothermal operations.
This is not just a sustainability play. It is a profit multiplier.
And lithium is only the beginning.
Geothermal brines can also contain other valuable and critical minerals, such as magnesium, zinc, boron, and even rare earth elements. While lithium recovery is currently the most commercially mature, future technologies will unlock additional revenue streams from the same brine, turning geothermal plants into full-scale mineral recovery hubs.
Tech Feasibility: Lithium Recovery Without the Disruption
Let us clear something up: this is not science fiction. The technology to extract lithium from geothermal brine is already a reality - and it is already working.
Thanks to advancements in Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and decades of experience in industrial water treatment, it is now possible to isolate lithium from hot, mineral-rich brines without impacting geothermal power generation. The lithium recovery system is installed alongside existing geothermal infrastructure and operates in parallel, eliminating the need to shut down turbines or re-engineer your entire operation.
This process is:
- Closed-loop (minimal environmental impact)
- Scalable (modular design to add capacity)
- Fast-to-deploy (no need for years-long permitting like traditional mining)
Even better: partners like Lithium Harvest offer a fully managed “Design, Build, Own, and Operate” (DBOO) model, meaning we run the lithium extraction plant, and you benefit from the revenue without the operational complexity.
What used to be a reinjected byproduct is now a revenue engine.
From Power to Profit: Your Next Strategic Move
As global demand for lithium skyrockets and energy markets evolve, geothermal operators are sitting on a rare opportunity - a single (or multiple) resource that can deliver two revenue streams.
Whether you are operating an established plant or planning a new development, lithium recovery from geothermal brine offers a way to unlock untapped value and reposition your operation at the heart of the clean energy transition. With the right technology, it is no longer just about generating power – it is about becoming a critical player in the future of energy and mobility.
At Lithium Harvest, we handle the entire lithium recovery process - from design and deployment to operations and optimization. You keep generating power – we will turn your brine into profit.
Curious about what dual revenue could look like for your site?
Geothermal Brine Extraction
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