Since minerals found in the deep sea can be used in technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles (EVs), deep-sea mining is often framed as essential for the green transition. However, current evidence shows this claim to be false. Several authoritative scientific studies and institutions, including the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC), have assessed that deep-sea mining is not required for the global energy transition due to the alternative solutions available.
The exponential growth in EV production is a huge driver of demand for critical minerals, but battery technology is advancing equally rapidly. Even prospective miners admit that new technologies may not require deep-sea minerals, and that the cost of mining may fail to justify commercial operations. Up until roughly 2020, most electric vehicles (EVs) were made with lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese or aluminum. Today half or more EVs contain lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries that do not use cobalt or nickel (nor manganese) thus obviating the need for metals found in nodules. New battery technologies are being developed such as lithium-free sodium-ion batteries, and solid-state batteries, the latter being hailed as ‘game-changing’ battery technology, which may further reduce demand for deep-sea metals.
More sustainable land mining practices are also a key alternative to deep-sea mining. Greatly improved environmental and social governance (ESG) frameworks and standards are needed that require terrestrial extractive industries to improve processes to maximize the capture of minerals, reduce waste, and minimize social and environmental impacts.
Circular economy strategies such as increased recovery, recycling, and refurbishing is another area of focus in mitigating the need for deep-sea mining. Recycling of critical minerals can lower the need for new mining activity by 25-40% by 2050, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. Recycling would reduce new mine development needs by 40% for copper and cobalt, and by 25% for nickel by 2050, the report continues. Circular economy strategies should be combined with policies designed to reduce societal demand for resource-intensive products and energy, for example through improving energy efficiency, investing in shared economy models, and redesigning towns and mobility in cities.