Key points
- The Metals Company conducted 22 offshore research campaigns over a decade, collecting a petabyte-scale dataset on deep-sea environments.
- The Clarion Clipperton Zone contains enough materials to produce all electric vehicle and storage batteries multiple times over.
- A prototype nodule collector vehicle was tested at 4,200 meters depth; findings are informing the design of a larger collector for Project Zero.
- Environmental impact assessments established baselines for benthic communities and sediments, with follow-up research measuring ecosystem recovery one year after testing.
