Mining the deep sea

Catalyst · 27 Jul 2023 · 49m

What this episode covers

Renee Grogan, co-founder and board director at Impossible Metals, discusses the complexities of deep-sea mining, focusing on the Clarion-Clipperton Zone's vast nickel, cobalt, and copper resources. She explains the regulatory framework of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the '2-year rule' triggered by Nauru, and the debate between selective harvesting and dredging technologies. Grogan highlights the critical challenge of enforcing environmental regulations three to five kilometers below the surface and predicts commercial extraction by 2028.

Mentioned

Companies
Impossible Metals, International Seabed Authority, The Metals Company, Greenpeace
Also
Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Nauru, Cook Islands, New Zealand

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Hardware to Save a Planet · 45m

    Deep Sea Mining: A Responsible Approach to Resource Extraction with Oliver Gunasekara

    Oliver Gunasekara, Co-Founder and CEO of Impossible Metals, explains the company's approach to deep-sea mining using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to collect polymetallic nodules without harming marine ecosystems. He contrasts this with environmentally destructive dredging methods and discusses the economic advantages of high-grade seabed ore over land-based mining. Gunasekara outlines the technical challenges of operating at 6,000 meters, the regulatory landscape involving the International Seabed Authority, and the company's plan to secure off-take financing to build a commercial fleet by 2026.

  • The Robot Report Podcast · 1h 11m

    Autonomous submarines for ocean exploration; drone autonomy with Exyn Technologies

    Jud Kauffman and Joe Wolfel, co-founders of Austin-based startup Terradepth, discuss their mission to build the 'Google Earth of the ocean' using a novel two-submarine leapfrogging system for autonomous deep-sea data collection. They explain how their Navy SEAL background informs their approach to solving bandwidth and signal attenuation challenges in underwater environments. The episode also features Nader Elm, CEO and co-founder of Exyn Technologies, who details his company's autonomous drones designed for GPS-denied environments like mines, highlighting their software-centric approach and recent product launches.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Catalyst. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.