The high-stakes trade-off between green energy and deep-sea destruction

Nature · Published 22 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: To build a carbon-neutral future, we may need to strip the ocean floor. Deep-sea mining targets minerals essential for electric vehicles and wind turbines, but the cost could be irreversible damage to some of the planet's last unexplored frontiers and unique, slow-growing ecosystems.

Deep-sea mining targets mineral deposits located more than 1,000 meters below the surface, specifically focusing on 'polymetallic nodules.' These potato-sized rocks are scattered across vast abyssal plains, such as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean. These nodules, which form over millions of years, contain critical metals including cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, and lithium. They are considered essential building blocks for the transition to renewable energy, as they are required for batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines.

The scale of these deposits is immense. Spanning roughly 6 million square kilometres, the CCZ is thought to contain 21.1 billion dry tons of nodules. This represents a potential supply that, in some cases, could exceed the sources currently mined on land. Because terrestrial minerals are often concentrated in just a few countries, many governments view deep-sea mining as a strategic priority to diversify supply chains and secure the materials needed to meet net-zero targets.

However, the extraction process is physically violent. By scraping the seabed's surface, heavy seafloor collectors create sediment plumes and subject deep-sea organisms to metals discharged from the bottom. Over millions of years, these habitats adapted to intense pressure and a complete lack of light. Many species there grow slowly and do not reproduce often, meaning they could take centuries to recover from even minor disruptions. Scientists warn that many of these creatures remain unknown to humanity, with some studies finding that 90% of species in certain areas had never been seen before.

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