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DeepGreen Metals Continues to Advance Deep-Sea Research on Path to Meet Global Demand for Nickel and Other Key EV Battery Metals
Expeditions 5D and 4E are part of a multi-year, $75 million deep-sea research program to establish an environmental baseline and analyze the potential impacts o
About this update from Tmc The Metals Company Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" Expeditions 5D and 4E are part of a multi-year, $75 million deep-sea research program to establish an environmental baseline and analyze the potential impacts of DeepGreen’s proposed operations to source critical battery minerals from seafloor polymetallic nodules. DeepGreen shares its bathymetric survey data with the global community as part of the International Seabed Authority’s plans to develop a definitive map of the world’s seabed by 2030. The expeditions are ahead of DeepGreen’s plans to merge with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SOAC) and its expected public listing on NASDAQ as The Metals Company. VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DeepGreen Metals Inc., which is expected to merge with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SOAC) and be renamed ‘TMC the metals company Inc.’ (The Metals Company), today announced the mobilization of its next research campaign, Environmental Expedition 4E, which comes on the heels of the successful completion of Environmental Expedition 5D, which continued research on deep-sea food chains, biodiversity, geochemistry, and nutrient cycles within the NORI-D contract area of the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean. The two expeditions are the latest work packages in the multi-year deep-sea research program intended to establish a rigorous environmental baseline and characterize the potential impacts of The Metals Company’s proposed operations to source critical battery minerals from deep-sea polymetallic nodules. Dr. Andrew Sweetman, professor and leading researcher of deep-sea ecology and biogeochemistry at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, was a lead researcher onboard Expedition 5D, alongside a team of independent scientists from the Natural History Museum, the University of Leeds, Florida State University and the University of South Florida. Using three different lander systems—similar in design to Mars landers used by NASA—the 60-strong crew on the Maersk Launcher collected data on the biodiversity and nutrients available on the seafloor, as well as the oxygen and carbon cycling in the abyssal environment. This data is being used to build a model of CCZ ecosystem functions and to aid in the development of equipment and systems which minimize disruption to the deep-sea environment from proposed nodule c...