IMPERIAL— The Imperial Valley College (IVC) and the County of Imperial met with media representatives in the IVC board room to give updates on “LIFT the Valley: Lithium Industry Force Training,” Wednesday, May 1. The one-hour meeting started at 10:00 a.m. 

“We are here today because of the collaboration between IVC faculty and lithium companies in developing the curriculum for this program,” said Efrain Silva, IVC Dean of Economic and Workforce Development. 

The Chemical Technician Program will start this fall. Participating students who complete this one-year certification are expected to graduate in the summer of 2025. 

“We brought in industry experts and everyone that could contribute to the understanding of what we needed to do,” said Silva, referring to the development of curricula suited to the workforce needed at the geothermal plants to extract Lithium. 

“The chemistry program was developed with input from the advisory committee,” said Dr. Jim Fisher, IVC chemistry professor. 

According to Fisher, there are two pathways to becoming a chemical technician, either through the two-year chemistry associate degree or through the one-year certification program. Currently, the trend in the nation has been hiring more college-based chemical technicians, according to Fisher. 

The one-year certification program specifically addresses the needed workforce of companies to extract lithium. The training ratio is three hours of hands-on for every one hour of lecture, according to Silva. Furthermore, “All of our students are required to do internship hours to supplement their hands-on training,” said Silva. 

Three new curriculum programs resulted from the collaboration between academia and industry: Plant Operator program—started last year with students expected to graduate this summer; Chemical Lab Technician program—it will start this fall and graduate in 2025; and the Instrumentation Technician program. 

“We are one of the industry partners of IVC with regards to the LIFT the Valley program,” said Lennie Sarion, General Manager for Special Projects at Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables (BHE Renewables). 

“In 2021, we started the collaboration. We identified the curriculum that needs to be prepared for a future certification program. And now, we’re seeing it being realized,” said Sarion. 

“We started the Plant Operator Certification last year, now, Lab Technician. Next year, it will be Instrumentation and Electrical Technician Certification Programs. Eventually, there would be other programs that would be added to the curriculum,” said Sarion. 

In coming years, BHE Renewables will be hiring at least 200 workers. 

“We are proud to be involved with the “LIFT the Valley program,” said Rod Colwell, CEO, Control Thermal Resources. CTR will be employing 110 operators and 60 tech engineers, according to Colwell. “We are still in the construction phase. Hiring locally is our priority.” 

Three companies are building and developing geothermal energy plants designed to extract lithium at Lithium Valley, an area surrounded by agricultural land between Calipatria and the southern shores of the Salton Sea. 

Lithium Valley refers to a specific known geothermal resource area where lithium is extracted, according to Ryan Kelley, Vice Chair of the Lithium Valley Commission. Kelley is a member of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors. 

The following speakers gave updates on the progress of the collaboration between academia and industry: Dr. Lennor Johnson, IVC Superintendent/ President; Jesus Escobar, Imperial County Board of Supervisors (ICBOS)— District 1; Ryan Kelley, ICBOS—District 4, California Lithium Commissioner; Efrain Silva, IVC Dean of Economic and Workforce Development; Dr. Jim Fisher, IVC Chemistry Professor; Rod Colwell, CEO, Control Thermal Resources (CTR), who spoke on behalf of Rob Moore; Elisabeth Espinoza, EnergySource Minerals (ESM); Vince Signorotti, Vice President—Government Relations, ESM; Lenie Sarion, General Manager for Special Projects, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables (BHE Renewables); and Burt Short, Human Resources Manager, BHE Renewables. 

“We want an economic development plan that brings multiple industries under the umbrella of lithium extraction,” said Efrain Silva, IVC Dean of Economic and Workforce Development. 

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