Why is deep-sea mining is NOT necessary for renewable energy

​By Maya Crute Jones

​Anyone with a vested interest in Deep-Sea Mining (DSM) touts that polymetallic nodules found in the deep-sea are essential for the green energy transition. As the world hurtles towards climate disaster, carbon emitting transport and energy production are being replaced by more renewable, safe and clean alternatives. However, a growing body of research, public opinion and global manufacturers all highlight the same truth: DSM is not only catastrophically destructive—it’s also unnecessary.
The resources typically cited as vital for the green energy transition are “Rare Earth Elements”: nickel, copper, manganese and cobalt. These metals are found in polymetallic nodules in deep-sea ecosystems, and are touted as key for storage batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs), wind and solar energy storage (grid and residential), bicycles and marine applications. Innovation in the renewable energy sphere is at the cutting edge of technology, so where these metals were once essential, they are no longer needed.

Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, for example, are increasingly favored across a range of applications. Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries, LFP batteries do not require cobalt. They avoid the need for environmentally devastating DSM-sourced elements. What once appeared to be a need for new mining zones, has now been rendered obsolete by technological progress. The growth of a circular economy for elements and metals renders DSM unnecessary. 

64 companies have signed the WWF business statement calling for a moratorium on DSM and vow not to use deep-sea mined elements in their manufacturing. Signatories include global giants like BMW, Volkswagen, Apple and Google. Furthermore, financial institutions and insurance companies are becoming wary of the reputational, regulatory, operational and financial risks associated with DSM —particularly in an increasingly volatile metals market. This shows that deep-sea mined materials are not only not needed but it would be taboo to use them. 

Not only is DSM not needed for the green energy transition, but it is utterly counterproductive. Sediments found on the seafloor absorb and lock in 30 % of all anthropogenic carbon and disturbances risk releasing it back into the atmosphere, turbo-charging climate breakdown. Even more striking, a groundbreaking 2024 study found that CO2 is not only sequestered in the deep-sea but that Oxygen is produced by the polymetallic nodules themselves through seawater electrolysis. The very elements that DSM seeks to harvest are producing life-giving oxygen to abyssal plains and the myriad of species that live there. If mining companies truly cared about the green energy transition, they would be in favour of leaving the deep-sea well alone. 

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