Down To The Sea For New Energy

The renewable energy transition has companies looking out to sea

Julia Simon, September 27, 2021(MarketPlace)

Electric car batteries, solar panels and wind turbines and batteries — some of the key technologies in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources — require critical metals like cobalt and nickel…The massive metal demand on the horizon is why some mining companies are looking way out in the Pacific, in between Hawaii and Mexico, to mine the ocean floor...These nodules form over millions of years. They’re about the size of a potato and are full of cobalt, nickel, manganese and copper. The four minerals, which on land usually come from multiple mines, are all in one place here roughly 3 miles below the ocean’s surface…

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Wood Mackenzie estimates that even under the least aggressive scenarios to reduce fossil fuel consumption, we’ll see huge demand for metals on the seabed like cobalt and nickel…[Miners are testing robots to vacuum minerals from the seabed and seeking state sponsorships through] the International Seabed Authority…[but] robotic vacuums crawling around the ocean floor have raised environmental concerns…The International Seabed Authority said it’s continuing to develop regulations…[Proponents say it avoids deforestation and human rights abuses, but] Google and Volvo are among companies already saying they won’t use metals from the deep seabed…[though with the climate crisis] demand for these metals is coming…” click here for more

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