On 1 February a European consortium launched a new Horizon 2020 project, Blue Nodules which aims to address the challenge of creating a viable and sustainable value chain to retrieve polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor. It will develop and test new highly-automated and sustainable technologies for deep-sea mining with minimal environmental pressures.
The technical side of the project is dedicated to subsea harvesting equipment in addition to the in-situ seafloor and sea surface processing of polymetallic nodules. The operational aspect focuses on sea operations and logistics, including compliance with, and development of, rules and regulations, and the business case.
The independent, dedicated environmental part will focus on environmental pressures and on an environmental impact assessment. In all areas, Blue Nodules will build on the results of the European FP7 projects, MIDAS and Blue Mining, and the EcoMining pilot action funded by the JPI Oceans initiative of the European science foundations.
Rodney Norman, director at IHC Mining, which is coordinating the project, explains that Blue Nodules is significant because it allows the European consortium to expand technological development beyond the vertical transportation system of Blue Mining to the seafloor mining vehicle and other components of the system.
Polymetallic Nodules occur on the seabed in most oceans around the world and contain large quantities of critical raw materials, such as nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese, as well as gallium and rare earth elements. They are vital for Europe’s innovative technologies, for manufacturing crucial alloys, and for new and innovative products like batteries for electric cars, photovoltaic systems and devices for wind turbines. The EU recognises the strategic importance of a sustainable supply of these raw materials.
The extreme conditions found on the ocean floor raise specific technical and environmental challenges, which are demanding and entirely different from land-based mining. To meet those challenges, the EU BLUE NODULES project will develop the seafloor and surface processes and equipment for sustainable deepsea harvesting of the nodules.
