Simbol Materials, a California-based startup, is piggy-backing on geothermal development in the geothermal-rich Salton Sea field, with plans to extract lithium from geothermal brine for use in innovative battery applications like electric cars.

FORBES: Sleeping Geothermal Giant Stirs

Luka Erceg, the boss of Simbol Materials, a start-up that produces lithium and other metals from brines and effluent, reckons he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal and other fees applying for funds from the federal stimulus package.

ECONOMIST: Technology firms and Barack Obama