United Downs produces UK’s first geothermal power

• 23 days ago (2026-02-27)
• David Flin

Europe 1163 Gas engine plant 85

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The United Downs deep geothermal power project in Cornwall, the first geothermal power plant in the UK, has started generating electricity.

Geothermal Engineering Limited (GEL), owner and operator of the plant, has signed a long-term agreement with Octopus Energy to supply 3 MW from the plant. GEL has said that it was also producing demonstration-scale levels of low-carbon lithium carbonate for electric vehicle batteries.

The United Downs well is over 5 km deep. It delivers geothermal fluid for power generation, after which the fluid is processed to produce technical grade lithium carbonate before being reinjected back underground.

Ryan Law, CEO of GEL, said: “Geothermal energy and critical minerals extraction are naturally complimentary as they share the same subsurface resource. The hot, minerals-rich fluids that generate clean electricity can also be processed to recover strategic materials like lithium as well as rare earth minerals.”