26th Feb 2026 10:03
(Alliance News) - The UK's first deep geothermal plant generating power from heat miles underground – and producing lithium for car batteries – is switching on in Cornwall.
Geothermal Engineering Ltd [GEL]'s GBP50 million United Downs site is set to deliver renewable electricity 24/7 from the deepest well ever drilled in the UK, at more than 5 kilometres, 3 miles, deep.
It will draw up water at extremely high temperatures – more than 190C – to drive turbines that will generate power for 10,000 homes.
The water also contains high concentrations of lithium, which will be extracted for the production of zero-carbon lithium carbonate, a key material for electric car batteries and battery storage.
The company said it will produce 100 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year from this year – enough to make 2,500 car batteries.
But Ryan Law, chief executive & founder of GEL, said there were plans to expand the site and two other geothermal energy projects in Cornwall currently in the planning process to produce enough lithium for 250,000 cars a year.
The first site will produce 3 megawatts of power, with the three projects generating up to 10MW of power, and Octopus Energy has signed a long-term deal to purchase at least 3MW of electricity, powering 10,000 homes.
Law said there was potential to expand geothermal energy across the UK to provide large amounts of renewable power.
"We're effectively tapping into a massive nuclear power station that someone's already built," he said, adding, "the resource is gigantic".
"It's just people getting their heads around it – you've got to start somewhere and once you've started, it gets a lot easier."
He told the Press Association that while the plan to produce deep geothermal electricity in Cornwall had been years in development, the company had not planned to produce lithium, it was "just lucky".
"Cornwall has been known for centuries for, and used to have its wealth from, mining, so we knew it's got lots of minerals."
"When we tested the water in these very deep wells, we found it is full of lithium. There are other minerals in there that are also interesting, but lithium is a logical first choice because it genuinely is a great resource and it's better than we've seen across the whole of Europe.
"It's a very high concentration of lithium and it's a very clean fluid, so it's a natural thing to do as a by-product from the power."
Law said the power plant generates power to process the lithium, while the electricity generation process also cools the temperature of the liquid down to a level to be able to extract the lithium, and the whole plant has a very small surface footprint.
He also warned there was a need to scale up the supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium in Europe, and said there should be a "green national premium" price for zero-carbon, domestically-produced products to drive the market to reduce reliance on imports from places such as China.
Alan Whitehead, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero Minister, said: "The UK's first ever geothermal power is a ground-breaking moment for UK energy innovation, powering thousands of homes with clean, homegrown power.
"With zero‑carbon lithium now being produced here in the UK, British businesses are leading the way in securing the materials needed to power the next generation of electric cars."
The electricity from the geothermal plant has secured a "contract for difference" for renewable power, which means it will receive a fixed price for the energy it provides to the grid, of GBP119 per megawatt hour [in 2012 prices].
Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy, said: "Bills are still too high, and the answer is more homegrown, renewable energy.
"For the first time, we're bringing deep geothermal power to British homes – a clean, constant energy source right beneath our feet.
"Projects like United Downs show how the UK can cut bills and carbon by tapping every ounce of our renewable potential."
By Emily Beament, Press Association Environment Correspondent
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
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