Congressional Leaders Urge President Biden and Department of Defense to Consider Polymetallic Nodules for U.S. Critical Mineral Supplies and National Security

Nine members of Congress urged the administration to “keep all options on the table, including deep-sea opportunities, in assessing polymetallic nodules as a viable resource to secure critical minerals and close national security vulnerabilities.”

See the letter here.

In June, the House Armed Services Committee directed the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy “to assess processing of seabed resources of polymetallic nodules domestically” under the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

See page 59 of the report.

The Inflation Reduction Act has stimulated massive investments in onshoring battery manufacturing for electrical vehicles (EVs). What is now needed is to unlock the world’s biggest source of critical metals using selective harvesting technology.