Salton Sea lithium deposits could help EV transition, support economically devastated area

The demand for electric vehicles is surging in the U.S., sparked in part by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and the subsidies it offers. But a looming supply shortage of lithium threatens to stall the EV transition. Stephanie Sy traveled to California's Salton Sea where lithium deposits could help meet the country’s energy needs and support an economically devastated region. Correction: This segment stated that the Salton Sea area alone could produce nearly six times the lithium currently produced globally. This was a miscalculation. The region could produce an amount of lithium roughly equal to existing annual global output, not six times the amount. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: 🤍to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at 🤍🤍pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: 🤍bit.ly/2HfsCD6 Follow us: TikTok: 🤍🤍tiktok.com/🤍pbsnews Twitter: 🤍🤍twitter.com/newshour Instagram: 🤍🤍instagram.com/newshour Facebook: 🤍🤍pbs.org/newshour Subscribe: PBS NewsHour podcasts: 🤍🤍pbs.org/newshour/podcasts Newsletters: 🤍🤍pbs.org/newshour/subscribe