The U.S. government is exploring the potential of deep sea mining to provide rare earth elements crucial for future transportation technologies like electric vehicle batteries. Congress has approved funding to investigate the feasibility of extracting these minerals from the ocean floor. That could reduce America’s reliance on foreign suppliers like China, which currently dominates the global rare earth market.
Lawmakers are in discussions with representatives from the deep sea mining industry to understand how these elements could be processed domestically. However, this initiative faces opposition from environmentalists and some automakers due to potential ecological risks.
Greenpeace has raised concerns that deep sea mining could lead to ocean pollution and harm marine life. Prominent car manufacturers — including BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen — have expressed their opposition to using these ocean-derived resources. Instead, they are advocating for a moratorium on such exploration efforts.
General Motors (GM) opted to take a different approach. The company’s shareholders recently voted against a proposal that would have required GM to disclose its use of deep sea minerals. Tesla is also expected to address this topic during its upcoming shareholders’ meeting on June 13.
Proponents within the deep sea mining industry say that the potential environmental consequences of obtaining these materials from the ocean floor has been exaggerated. Some argue that whether the resources are extracted from land or sea, some level of impact is inevitable. They suggest that the relatively secluded depths of the ocean, which have minimal marine life and are far from human populations, could be a less disruptive option.
