Controlled Thermal Resources is set to become a public company through a merger with Plum Acquisition Corp. IV, creating a combined enterprise valued at $4.7 billion. The transaction will raise $300 million in fresh capital and the combined entity, to be named CTRH, is expected to list on Nasdaq in the second half of 2026 upon shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The company’s flagship Hell's Kitchen project in California’s Imperial Valley will leverage superheated geothermal brine to generate clean baseload power and extract lithium within a closed-loop system. Initial operations will include a 50 MW geothermal power plant integrated with a direct lithium extraction process developed alongside water treatment partner Aquatech.

Phase one targets commissioning the 50 MW power facility by 2028 and producing up to 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate per year by 2029. Full buildout could expand output to 650 MW of geothermal power and as much as 100,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually, plus recovery of other strategic minerals such as zinc and manganese.

Controlled Thermal Resources has secured a conditional use permit, an accelerated federal infrastructure permit, and raised over $285 million in private funding. The company has also locked in supply agreements with automakers including Stellantis and General Motors, and has placed long-lead equipment orders ahead of construction.