The project will deploy 750 MWth of GlassPoint's advanced solar technology to begin decommissioning two coal-fired power plants in California and strengthen domestic supply chains for strategic minerals 

, /PRNewswire/ -- GlassPoint, the leader in decarbonizing industrial process heat, today announced a partnership with Searles Valley Minerals (SVM), a producer of soda ash, borates, and other industrial materials, to reduce costs and boost U.S. mineral competitiveness.  Under the first phase of the arrangement, GlassPoint will install 750 MW_th of solar thermal technologies to reduce carbon emissions by up to half a million metric tons of CO₂ per year at SVM's manufacturing facility in Trona, California. The project will provide superior unit economics to existing coal-based operations and ensure competitive domestic supply chains for strategic minerals, while paving the way forward for replacing two coal-fired power plants.

"We've been looking for the right partner to strengthen our power operations for over a decade, and GlassPoint impressed us with its proven track record reliably delivering solar steam at scale for industrial operations around the world," said Dennis Cruise, President & CEO of Searles Valley Minerals. "As coal prices continue to rise, GlassPoint's solution will enable us to lower costs from day one while protecting American jobs. Financing further reduces our risk and upfront costs, making our partnership with GlassPoint an easy decision."

Sodium carbonate and boron are widely used critical minerals. In the next decade, SVM's plant will be the last US-based production facility for boron, ensuring an important supply of domestic production.

"We continue to see strong demand from around the world as industrial corporations seek to enhance their operations while achieving significant cost advantages," said Rod MacGregor, CEO of GlassPoint. "Industrial process heat is a $444B market and GlassPoint continues to win the confidence of large industrial providers around the world in a range of industries, from metals and mining to building materials and oil and gas. We look forward to partnering with SVM to support jobs at home in California, advance American technology and secure a competitive domestic supply chain for critical minerals essential to American industry."

GlassPoint's solar steam system will begin replacing steam currently generated via two coal and natural gas boilers used for both heat and electricity. The company's advanced Enclosed Trough technology will use reflective mirrors inside greenhouses to focus sunlight onto a pipe carrying liquid salt, capturing energy from the sun for use in boiler operations as well as onsite power. GlassPoint will also deploy its Unify storage system, which uses ternary liquid salts to store heat at night and enable a continuous base load of heat and power night and day.

"Concentrating solar power is attractive for mission-critical use cases, precisely because it has baseload qualities that are advantageous from a reliability standpoint," said Pavel Molchanov, analyst at Raymond James.

The partnership with SVM comes on the heels of the announcement of GlassPoint's flagship 1.5 GW project with Ma'aden to accelerate the decarbonization of aluminum production in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, supported by the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia and Cox Energy. With the addition of the SVM project to its development pipeline, GlassPoint now has over 2.2 GW of industrial process heat under development, dwarfing any other supplier. To date, GlassPoint has delivered over 60% of the world's capacity of solar-generated industrial process heat.

SVM's operations involve processing brine to produce boric acid, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, and other specialty products for industries like detergents, glass, and fertilizers. Searles Lake, with brine 10 times saltier than seawater, is unique because it contains one of the richest deposits of multiple minerals including borax, potassium, sodium and lithium. Operational for over a century, it produces approximately 1.75 million tons of materials annually and employs over 600 people, generating over $300 million in revenue.

About GlassPoint
GlassPoint is the leader in reducing costs for the $444B industrial process heat market and has installed over half of the world's capacity of solar-generated industrial process heat. The company builds, owns and operates large-scale solar steam facilities to reliably reduce costs and carbon emissions in hard-to-abate industries such as mining and metals, chemicals, construction materials, desalination and more. Learn more at glasspoint.com.

About Searles Valley Minerals
Searles Valley Minerals, Inc. processes brine from Searles Lake to produce over 1 million tons of chemicals annually, including boric acid, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, and various specialty borax products, as well as salt. Operating three facilities in Searles Valley, the company uses an eco-friendly solution mining technique, distinct from open-pit methods, which minimizes environmental impact while efficiently extracting resources. Learn more at svminerals.com.

SOURCE GlassPoint