Do we need deep sea mining for the energy transition?

The briefing examines the role of deep sea mining in providing minerals like cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese for clean energy technologies. It concludes that deep sea mining is unlikely to solve immediate supply crunches because the necessary technology for commercial extraction and processing is not yet available, and the steepest growth in mineral demand is expected before 2035. The document highlights significant environmental risks, regulatory uncertainty surrounding the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and the potential for alternatives such as sustainable land mining, recycling, and material substitution to meet demand.

• Deep sea mining is unlikely to mitigate short-term mineral supply shortages because the industry lacks the commercial technology for extraction and processing, while the highest growth in demand is projected to occur before 2035.
• There is no physical scarcity of critical minerals in the earth's crust; instead, supply crunches are driven by geopolitical risks, lack of investment in upstream activities, and a high concentration of processing capacity in China.
• The International Seabed Authority (ISA) has not yet adopted a mining code to regulate international waters, and while a 2025 timeline was set, the current secretary-general emphasizes that rules must be defined before applications are approved.
• Deep sea mining poses significant and poorly understood environmental risks, including potential impacts on carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and oxygen production from polymetallic nodules that occurs without photosynthesis.
• The minerals most available in the deep sea—copper, cobalt, and manganese—are not necessarily the ones most threatened by supply crunches; rare earths, graphite, and lithium are more likely to face short-term shortages but are not found in significant quantities in polymetallic nodules.
• Alternatives to deep sea mining include diversifying supply chains, increasing battery recycling (with the EU targeting 15%), adopting sustainable land mining practices, and developing material substitutions like cobalt-free batteries.

APA

Team, Z. (2024). Do we need deep sea mining for the energy transition? Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/do-we-need-deep-sea-mining-for-the-energy-transition/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Do we need deep sea mining for the energy transition? Zero Carbon Analytics, 2024. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/do-we-need-deep-sea-mining-for-the-energy-transition/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Do we need deep sea mining for the energy transition? |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=5 September 2024 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/do-we-need-deep-sea-mining-for-the-energy-transition/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2024need, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Do we need deep sea mining for the energy transition?}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/do-we-need-deep-sea-mining-for-the-energy-transition/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }