Our projects aim to deliver a net positive impact on people and the planet when compared to the alternatives.
Lifecycle
We see it as our responsibility to account for the full stack of our impacts.
Our journey began in 2019 with the commission of an academic lifecycle assessment (LCA) of the impacts of producing battery metals for one billion electric vehicles. This LCA covered 19 impact categories and compared two sources: deep-sea nodules and terrestrial land ores. As follow-up to this comprehensive LCA, we commissioned several subsequent lifecycle assessments focusing on specific impacts (climate, waste, biodiversity) for the same one billion EV scenario—these LCAs have all been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals.
In 2022, we commissioned our first project-specific LCA as project definition of our NORI-D Polymetallic Nodule Project matured. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence delivered an ISO-standards compliant and third-party reviewed commercial LCA based on the project dataset updated following significant developments in offshore nodule collection technology and onshore processing flowsheet.
With one project-specific and several industry-level LCAs now published, we are able to identify potential impact hotspots and address these prior to commercial production.
Benchmark LCA for NORI-D (2023)
The first NORI-D Project dataset was published in the SK 1300 Initial Assessment (March 2021). After successfully piloting our offshore nodule collection technology and completing a pilot pyrometallurgical program for nodule processing, we updated the project dataset for NORI-D. TMC then commissioned Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (Benchmark) for an in-depth project LCA focusing on eight critical impacts including carbon emissions, waste, water, and toxicity. Importantly, Benchmark was also to compare the impacts of the NORI-D Project model to specific land-based production routes representing upwards of 90% of global supply for nickel and cobalt, and 20% for copper. Based on Benchmark’s third-party reviewed assessment, the NORI-D Project model would outperform all key land-based production routes analyzed in almost every impact category. While technically not a full LCA, Benchmark was also commissioned for a further study of the impacts of mining on terrestrial carbon sinks, quantifying the magnitude of carbon stocks and carbon sequestration services loss due to mining of cobalt in the region of Katanga, DRC and nickel in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Download Benchmark LCA full report
Biodiversity paper (Biodiversity and Conservation, 2023)
This peer-reviewed study examines the trade-offs between harming biodiversity in the CCZ’s abyssal seafloor and its water column, and intensifying damage to rainforests and terrestrial mining habitats as the world supplies critical minerals for the energy transition. In his final paper before his death in 2022, Thomas Lovejoy, the ‘Godfather of Biodiversity,’ and his co-authors highlight the challenges in comparing biodiversity due to inconsistent size-class definitions and nomenclature. They call for a clearer understanding of biodiversity’s meaning and implications to better inform environmental management decisions.
Waste LCA (Yale Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2022)
This peer-reviewed study analyzes and compares waste streams from sourcing battery metals from deep-sea nodules and land ores. Researchers Daina Paulikas, Dr. Steven Katona, Erika Ilves, and Saleem H. Ali found that using seafloor polymetallic nodules for nickel, copper, cobalt, and manganese could reduce lifecycle solid waste by 59-93% compared to land ores. Their analysis showed that producing EV battery metals from land ores generates over 270 kg of waste per kg of nickel and 460 kg per kg of copper, whereas nodule-derived production results in 83 kg and 29 kg of waste (mostly in the form of mobilized seafloor sediment), respectively.
Climate change LCA (Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020)
Polymetallic nodules offer a new, abundant source of high-grade metals crucial for renewable energy storage and transportation. This peer-reviewed study compares the life-cycle impacts of sourcing battery metals from land ores versus deep-sea nodules, focusing on emissions and carbon sequestration disruptions.
Researchers Daina Paulikas, Dr. Steven Katona, Erika Ilves, and Saleem H. Ali found that using nodules for battery metals could reduce CO2 emissions by 70-75%, stored carbon at risk by 94%, and carbon sequestration disruption by 88%. Their analysis shows that nodules could supply metals for one billion EV batteries with up to 11.6 gigatons less CO2, significantly contributing to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Comprehensive LCA ‘white paper’ (2020)
The way we source and use metals for batteries significantly impacts the environment. An in-depth life-cycle assessment compares the impacts of metals from land ores versus deep-sea polymetallic metals for transitioning to one billion electric vehicles by 2050. This cross-disciplinary study, led by Daina Paulikas (University of Delaware) and Dr. Steven Katona (Conservation International), integrates data from various fields to assess future costs to people and the planet.
The researchers found that using deep-sea polymetallic nodules for battery metals would greatly reduce climate change impacts, conserve nonliving resources, protect biodiversity, and enhance social and economic wellbeing compared to terrestrial mining. The study suggests that responsibly sourcing metals from deep-sea nodules can support the clean-energy transition with lower environmental and social costs. Addressing global resource extraction impacts requires systemic thinking about future development needs.
