Polymetallic nodules could supply raw materials for electric vehicle batteries

Lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese are among the key raw materials used in electric vehicle batteries. Yet, with the overwhelming push in recent years to develop and bring many more electric vehicles to market, there is a genuine risk that there will not be enough raw materials to produce so many batteries.

It is an issue we have covered before: the planet simply does not currently have the installed capacity to extract the quantities of raw materials required for the anticipated number of electric vehicles, and building that capacity could take many years.

According to the World Bank, demand for certain materials used in battery production could rise by as much as 11 times by 2050. Shortages in the supply of nickel, cobalt and copper were forecast as early as 2025.

Polymetallic nodules in the Pacific Ocean

There is an alternative that could reduce, or even remove, the need for land-based raw materials. DeepGreen Metals, a Canadian deep-sea mining company, proposes harvesting the seabed rather than mining on land, specifically in the Pacific Ocean. Why the Pacific? Because one identified area contains an enormous concentration of polymetallic nodules.

Nodules… what exactly?

Also known as manganese nodules, polymetallic nodules are deposits of ferromanganese oxides and other metals, including those needed to manufacture batteries. They range from 1 cm to 10 cm in size - looking no different from small stones - and ocean-floor reserves are estimated at 500 billion tonnes.

They can be found in every ocean, with several deposits already known around the world, and they have even been discovered in lakes. Unlike extracting ore on land, polymetallic nodules sit on the ocean floor and require no drilling activity. Apparently, they simply need to be collected.

What are the advantages?

Compared with land-based mining, the main benefit of collecting polymetallic nodules is its considerably lower environmental impact. That is according to an independent study commissioned by DeepGreen Metals, which compared the environmental effects of terrestrial mining and polymetallic nodule collection to produce one billion electric vehicle batteries.

The findings are encouraging. The study estimated a 70% reduction in CO₂ emissions - 0.4 Gt in total rather than 1.5 Gt using current methods. It also found that 94% less land area and 92% less forest area would be needed, respectively, while this type of operation produces no solid waste.

The study also states that the impact on wildlife is 93% lower than with land-based mining. However, DeepGreen Metals itself acknowledges that, although the number of animal species in the deep-ocean collection area is more limited, little is still known about the range of species that may live there. As a result, the real impact on that ecosystem remains unknown. DeepGreen Metals intends to carry out a more detailed, multi-year study into the long-term effects on the ocean floor.

According to the study, polymetallic nodules consist of almost 100% usable materials and are non-toxic, whereas minerals extracted from land have a lower utilisation rate and contain toxic elements.

Could this be the answer to securing the raw materials needed to make the vast number of batteries we will require? DeepGreen Metals believes so.

Source: DriveTribe and Autocar.

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