Friends of CTR, 

There’s no doubt the year 2022 will go down in history as the ‘Year of Energy’.   

2022 will also be remembered as the year the United States took charge of its future clean energy security with President Biden’s strategic implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Defence Production Act, and the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act  which includes over $365 billion earmarked for clean energy investments. 

The auto industry is pouring more than $1 trillion into its shift from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles. According to AutoForecast Solutions, electric vehicles could account for a third of the North American market, and about 26% of vehicles produced worldwide, by 2029.

In 2021, the U.S. produced 44 GWh of lithium-ion battery capacity.  In 2022, an additional 500+ GWh of capacity was announced.

The sheer volume of battery materials required to satisfy both the EV and Battery Storage industries is staggering. Six grid-scale battery storage facilities or facility expansions were announced in the U.S. alone, since August.

According to Wood Mackenzie, global accumulated lithium-ion battery capacity could rise over five-fold to 5,500 GWh by 2030. 

The Asia Pacific region, led by China, accounted for 90% of the world’s battery manufacturing in 2021. By the end of decade, the region’s market dominance is expected to be reduced to around 69%.  North America’s battery capacity could expand 10-fold and Europe is on track to secure around 20% of the global market by 2030.

So, how much lithium will be needed for all these gigafactories? 

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicts demand to rise from 2022 supply levels of 678,000 tonnes LCE, to 4 million tonnes LCE by 2035. 

The question now is how quickly can the U.S. ramp up its domestic battery materials production to feed this massive expansion?

This is where the real value of CTR’s modular development strategy kicks in.  The capacity to replicate engineering for integrated clean power and lithium production ‘trains’ over 8 stages - in one location - while offering co-location opportunities that minimize costs and maximize domestic output is entirely unique to the Hell’s Kitchen project and the Salton Sea Geothermal Resource. 

What is urgently needed as we head into 2023 is a whole-of-government approach to prioritize permitting for clean energy projects and to offer additional support for upstream raw material producers and refinery operations that meet stringent U.S. sustainability standards. 

It is imperative that the public and private sectors work together to meet these accelerated decarbonization timelines while keeping the cost of batteries affordable AND sustainable. 

A recap on CTR’s 2022 highlights

• Completed drilling operations for Stage 1 - HK-1, and HK-2 geothermal production wells

• Initiated FEL-3 engineering for Stage 1 (50MW power and 25,000 tonnes LHM) and commenced engineering for Stages 2, 3, and 4 (130 MW power and 50,000 tonnes LHM, per Stage)

• Completed resource analysis on live brine and confirmed lithium concentrations 22% higher than previously reported and higher geothermal power capacity from CTR’s first two production wells 

• Commenced the project’s optimization program to fine tune Stage 1 plant start up parameters 

• Advanced procurement and the production of long-lead equipment items

• Appointed engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm Hargrove, to deliver the Hell’s Kitchen Stage 1 lithium project.

• Signed a definitive lithium offtake agreement with Stellantis to supply 25,000 tonnes lithium hydroxide every year over a ten-year contract term.

• Broadened CTR’s Strategic Investment and Collaboration Agreement with General Motors to include a Definitive Supply Agreement extending delivery of lithium hydroxide beyond ten years.

• Signed a Letter of Intent to supply lithium products and clean power to Statevolt for its proposed 54 GWh local gigafactory 

• Initiated research with selected OEMs and cathode producers for co-location of CAM, PCAM, and battery manufacturing facilities 

• Launched CTR’s vision for the world’s first Clean Energy Campus

• Hosted numerous site visits for community representatives and government officials including the Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Congressman Raul Ruiz, members of the White House National Economic Council, CEC Chair David Hochschild, and representatives from Governor Newsom’s office. 

• Successfully redomiciled CTR as a U.S. company – Controlled Thermal Resources Holdings Inc. 

It has certainly been a very successful and productive year for CTR.  I’d like to thank our dedicated team, our consultant teams, and our project partners for their extraordinary efforts this year and for working together as a united and world-class operational team.  

Thanks also to our Board and to our shareholders for your ongoing support and encouragement as we move into the next gear in 2023!

And finally, a very big thanks to the communities of Imperial County and sovereign Tribal Nations for your contributions and support as we continue to work together to create positive outcomes for the community.

Please have a safe and wonderful holiday season and on behalf of the whole CTR team, we look forward to seeing you all in 2023.

Rod Colwell 
Chief Executive Officer 

Finance Executive, Mary Van Veen joins CTR Board

CTR is very pleased to welcome Mary Van Veen to the company’s Board of Directors. 

Mary is a highly respected Finance Executive with significant experience in talent development and leadership of global teams. Mary also brings deep experience in global Tax planning as well as Mergers and Acquisitions, Treasury operations and Capital Markets.   

Mary led the complex tax issues of DuPont's recent transformation including the $130 billion merger with Dow in 2017 and subsequent separation into 3 publicly traded companies through the spin off of Dow and Corteva in 2019. 

In addition, Mary led the separation of DuPont’s Nutrition and Health segment through a split off and merger with IFF in 2021 and played key role in negotiating the $11B sale of DuPont’s Material and Mobility business in 2022.

Needless to say, we are incredibly excited to have Mary join CTR’s Board as we move forward into construction and extensive company expansion in 2023. 

Chief Financial Officer, Eric Thayer joins CTR Board

CTR’s Chief Financial Officer, Eric Thayer, also joined the Board of Directors this month. 

Eric will continue to lead CTR’s finance and corporate development efforts as we progress the Hell’s Kitchen Lithium and Power project.

CTR's team continues to grow!

CTR is delighted to introduce our newest team members in Finance and Engineering.  

Kyle O’Rourke - Director, Transformation, Planning & Risk  
Kyle O’Rourke comes to CTR with 9 years of public accounting experience, most recently serving as a Partner with Baker Tilly US, LLP.  In his career, he has led risk and management consulting work, including financial analysis, business process improvement, risk assessment, performance audit, and technology needs and implementation projects.  Kyle has served as a leader within the internal audit profession for many years.  He currently serves on the Board of the Instititue of Internal Auditors – Chicago Chapter after having served as the Chapter President in FY22.  

Muneeb Sharieff - Senior Mechanical Engineer
Muneeb brings over thirty years of Mechanical Engineering expertise to CTR and hands on experience in all aspects of project execution, design, and selection of mechanical and process equipment. With a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from Bangalore University, Muneeb has excelled in projects across the oil and gas industry, specifically in building new plants (refinery, power, and pipeline) and modifying existing facilities to increase efficiency and customer competitiveness. 

John Coon – Senior Chemical Engineer 
John joined the CTR team in late October and is based in CTR’s Houston office. John has decades of engineering experience previously working with Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil on various engineering projects in the U.S. Gulf Coast and globally, managing contracts and participating in merger and acquisition activities.

As Senior Chemical Engineer, John works closely with the Hargrove team in Texas to ensure smooth communications throughout the project’s engineering efforts and to improve project flow and schedules.

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