The Energy Transition Needs Minerals. Is Deep Sea Mining The Best Way To Get Them?

<p>The International Energy Agency last month held its first ever&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iea.org/news/iea-critical-minerals-and-clean-energy-summit-delivers-six-key-actions-for-secure-sustainable-and-responsible-supply-chains" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">summit</a> to discuss Critical Minerals and Clean Energy. It was attended by more than 50 countries, which came together to discuss ways to secure the critical minerals that are needed to make the transition to low-carbon energy.</p><p>Whether it’s copper wiring in electricity systems, steel in a wind turbine, or lithium in an EV battery, metals are vital for low-carbon technologies, and demand is only going to increase over the next decade. New mines for these metals can take a long time to ring into production, raising fears about whether supplies can keep up. One solution to this problem that’s been getting a lot of attention recently is sea-bed mining.</p><p>It is a potentially significant new source of supply for some of these critical metals, but it’s also highly controversial because of the damage it could do to deep water ocean ecosystems.</p><p>On the Energy Gang this week, Ed Crooks is back in the host’s chair, and joined by regular Amy Harder, Executive Editor of Cipher Magazine, the publication supported by Breakthrough Energy.</p><p>Amy recently interviewed the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, in New York, and she details the main takeaways from that conversation on the show today. Some Norwegian lawmakers have called for a 10-year delay to the country’s plans to allow deep sea mining so that the environmental impacts can be studied.</p><p>Dr Melissa Lott, Director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, is also on the show and she outlines some of those environmental impacts.</p><p>The demand for critical minerals could necessitate offshore mining, but it is not the only possible option.</p><p>Recycling can be another source of increased supply. A study from the International Council on Clean Tra