https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/26/cornwall-new-geothermal-project-launches

A new mini power station and lithium extraction facility near Redruth are set to bolster green energy and create jobs

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From Thursday, the Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) plant near Redruth will feed electricity created by tapping into hot granite rocks to the National Grid and extract lithium from the mineral-rich water used in the process.

The switch-on, the first of its kind in Britain, has been welcomed by the government, which sees projects like this as a way of bolstering energy, and by people from Cornwall, who take pride in their mining heritage and hope for an economic boost in a deprived part of the West Country.

Ryan Law, chief executive of GEL, said he was overjoyed at the launch, which has been almost 20 years in the making. “To finally reach this point is exciting – and a bit of a relief,” he said.

GEL says the plant will generate enough renewable electricity to power 10,000 homes, with the plan to open more, bigger sites in Cornwall.

Within a decade it says it will be producing enough lithium carbonate, a key material used in the production of rechargeable batteries, to supply about 250,000 electric vehicles a year.

Law said it had been difficult at times in the past to make the argument to politicians and investors that it was sensible to drill more than three miles into the reservoirs of very hot water (about 190C) found in faults in the granite in this part of Cornwall.

“With any first technology, you’ve got to convince everyone,” he said.

“But it’s like someone has built this enormous nuclear power station underground. We are just tapping into the heat that’s generated.”

Though getting to this point has been a slog, Law said the actual process of generating heat and extracting lithium was relatively simple.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/26/cornwall-new-geothermal-project-launches