BIG + the metals company develop underwater robots for next-generation deepsea mining

bjarke ingels group (BIG) has partnered with the metals company, a vancouver-based seafloor polymetallic nodules exploration firm, to develop a new generation of both onshore and offshore facilities, underwater robotic vehicles, and other waterborne vessels that will help facilitate deepsea mining. the newly proposed designs will help reshape conventional battery production and push it towards a net-zero-carbon future, by extracting metals from the seafloor.

the newly proposed processing facilities to offload nodules near deep-water ports
all images courtesy of the metals company

the proposed designs by BIG features a robot collector that aims to minimize disturbance while gathering polymetallic nodules from the vast seafloor. ‘to collect the nodules, we have designed a light-touch, robotic collector vehicle that aims a jet of seawater across the tops of the rocks to gently pry them from the sediment. part of our design for future collectors includes a buoyant, hydrodynamic shell with an extended lip to minimize seafloor compaction and reduce and redirect the dust plume kicked up during nodule collection,’ explains daniel sundlin, partner at BIG and partner in charge of the collaboration with the metals company.

the robotic collector to minimize disturbance while extracting polymetallic nodules from the seafloor

after collection, the nodules are then transported through a flexible hose to the surface production vessel, a 216-meter-long ship that runs on carbon-neutral electrofuels, featuring a sunken deck covered in photovoltaic solar panels. this new generation vessel by BIG is central to the metals company’s plans to scale to a fleet of 10 production vessels, enabling the provision of over 40 million tons of battery metals by 2050, or enough to produce 280 million electric vehicles, a quarter of the global passenger car fleet.

the underwater robot designed to harvest minerals from the seabed

at full-scale operations, nodules will be transported from the production vessels to shuttle carriers, whose X-bow design helps deliver hyper-efficient, hydrodynamic ships that can further contribute towards a reduced carbon footprint. once at port, the nodules are discharged onto a conveyor and into a portside processing plant, conceived as a ‘sustainable, performative and social campus in a regenerative landscape that turns conventional metallurgy on its head’. 

‘we asked BIG to reimagine what a metals-processing facility could be, to have it integrate with — even remediate — the urban coastal environment,’ mentions gerard barron, the metals company chairman and CEO. ‘the result is a breathtaking innovation complex that will transform an industrial port into a community-based hub for the electric vehicle revolution.’

BIG envisions the metals company’s metallurgical plant to include facilities for pyrometallurgical processing and hydrometallurgical refining steps, stockpiles, and product storage, as well as offices, visitor-centric experiences, and an innovation center to tie products into the EV supply chain. the ultimate goal for this new factory is to be circular, eventually recycling metals that have already been harvested and producing zero solid waste. although there is no set site for the plant’s construction, the company says that a number of brownfield sites are currently under consideration and that it envisions multiple facilities spread across three continents. 

project info:

name: a new generation of offshore and onshore assets to produce critical EV battery metals from seafloor rocks
design: bjarke ingels group (BIG)
company: the metals company