Apollo II is a prototype deep sea mining machine being tested off the coast of MalagaThat's the view of the engineer leading a major European investigation into new sources of key elements.
In calm waters 15km off the coast of Malaga in southern Spain, a prototype mining machine was lowered to the seabed and 'driven' by remote control. Billions of potato-sized rocks known as"nodules" litter the abyssal plains of the Pacific and other oceans and many are brimming with cobalt, suddenly highly sought after as the boom in the production of batteries gathers pace.
"It's readily available on the seafloor, it's almost like potato harvesting only 5km deep in the ocean." They recently calculated that meeting the UK's targets for electric cars by 2050 would require nearly twice the world's current output of cobalt.No one can be entirely sure, which makes the research off Spain highly relevant.
So for any organisms feeding by filter, waters that are suddenly filled with stirred-up sediment would be threatening. The machine is meant to cut a very shallow slice into the top 6-10cm of the seabed, lifting the nodules. Its tracks are made with lightweight aluminium to avoid sinking too far into the surface.David Shukman talks to Ralf Langeler, the engineer in charge of the Apollo II mining machine
Not as green as advertised then
Time to think about alternative forms of transport away from cars, electric or otherwise, especially in cities. Deepsea Mining solves nothing.
😪 damaging the plant when we are supposed to be saving it
Electric cars key to air cleanliness...but the death of all life in the oceans. Yeah right.......
Dear God no ,have we not polluted the sea enough,I am sure there is a better way!!!!!!!!!?
Profiteering interests have been positioning themselves to start trashing our seabed extracting minerals. In terms of manufacturing, EVs are no better than ICE cars. They required considerable resources. Society doesn't need this. Capitalism does. Opt out of car ownership.
I've heard it all now. Could not believe it when I first watched it on the news. Electric Cars are our future. Amazing. And educated people swallowed it hook line and sinker.
Over the last year cobalt prices have actually been falling due to over production. Also Tesla and other companies are looking to remove cobalt entirely and also develop new battery technologies. I don't see this sea mining being in the mix for EVs.
Yeah, electric cars are so environmentally friendly. 🥴
This is one reason why I have a Hybrid with much longer battery life
By trying to use electric cars we are going to land in whole new area of problems which no body knows really.
And there is nothing better for the environment than deep sea mining.
When will there be a total ban on David Shukman?
Yet another opportunity to further pollute and harm the planet.
So basically to solve one environmental problem we will have to create another one?
So it turns out the battery car is not so environmentally friendly after all. Time to think about the hydrogen economy. H2 can be used in ICEs and fuel cells to power electric motors. It's transportable and can be zero emission start to end.
LoL we can extract Li from sea water
So your telling me there is a massive environmental impact on me giving up my car for an electric one.
isn't the development of Fusion Reactors more important for electric vehicles and just about everything else?
Not if the Electric Power Cell makes it to the mass car market - No Cobalt required - Aluminium - Air cell.
Destroy the environment to pretend to be green! ElectricCar ElectricVehicles deluded
Off subject.
So lets rip and rape some more?
Have we not learned from fossil fuels? Why must we continue to ruin the planet for satisfy our short term interests? Human greed.
I am not engineering, but don’t use some alternative energy as sola panel, use the power of break and maybe other as well?
Law of the Sea stuff.
I think you should do another article and interview on the UK adult industry and interview a working adult performer as they are maltreated in this country and worth a lot to the economy of the UK and the world!
The dwarves delved too greedily and too deep
Almost two centuries of using the ICE cannot be changed overnight and everyone should be aware of the real resource costs to try and do so. Engine sizes have come down to improve efficiency, but there is more that could be done. EV switch over is a long way away still.
Can we please be honest about the environmental impact of extracting the elements and rare-earth metals, upon which this technology depends?
Or invading the Congo.
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