‘Blue Harvesting’ - a collaboration between five European countries - has designed a way to collect rare metals from the bottom of the ocean.
The sea floor boasts one of the world’s largest untapped collections of rare-earth elements, including copper, manganese, nickel and cobalt — materials crucial for accelerating the energy transition.
In order to meet this rising demand for rare earth minerals, a team of scientists has developed Apollo 2, which they described as a "vacuum cleaner" driven by water pressure and powered entirely by electricity. The device is able to collect raw materials without causing the clouds of fine sediment which are often harmful to marine life.
Apollo 2 being lowered into the sea / Delft University of Technology
Image credit: Technische Universiteit D...