FAQS: Impossible Metals Company2024-08-06T12:17:07-07:00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Please contact our team if you have any questions that aren’t covered here or would like to discuss your questions or feedback with Impossible Metals.

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Impossible Metals Company

When was Impossible Metal incorporated?2024-07-29T09:54:31-07:00

Impossible Metals was incorporated in 2020 as a Delaware B Corporation, which is a public benefits corporation (“B Corp”).

What is Impossible Metals’ public benefit?2024-07-29T09:54:41-07:00

The corporation’s specific public benefit purpose is to deliver responsibly mined and processed battery metals to the market in a manner that promotes sustainability, transparency, and accountability and to render a public benefit by accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy to mitigate the climate crisis.

What is Impossible Metals’ vision?2024-07-26T16:16:29-07:00

Accelerating clean energy by delivering the most sustainable critical metals.

What is Impossible Metals’ Mission?2024-07-26T16:17:05-07:00

To harvest and process critical metals from the seabed, while protecting the environment.

What are Impossible Metals’ Core Values?2024-07-29T09:55:18-07:00
  1. Planet comes first: environment and people before profit.
  2. We are determined, striving to make the impossible possible.
  3. We encourage, share and respect all perspectives.
  4. We move fast, separating what must be done now from what can be improved later.
  5. We embrace and learn from every success and failure.
  6. We act as owners, managing resources responsibility and efficiently.
How much seed funding has Impossible Metals raised to date?2024-07-29T09:55:28-07:00

Over $12M. We closed our seed round in May 2022 of $10M and pre-seed round of $2M in September 2021.

Who are Impossible Metals Investors?2024-07-29T09:55:39-07:00

Chalet, Y Combinator, Justin Hamilton, and many smaller funds and individuals.

Where is Impossible Metals based?2024-07-29T09:55:47-07:00

San Jose, CA, USA, and Collingwood, ON, Canada.

Who is the leadership and board member of Impossible Metals?2024-07-26T16:19:43-07:00

See the leadership team here.

See the board members here.

What is Impossible Metals’ business model?2024-07-29T09:56:30-07:00

Impossible Metals intends to partner with companies that hold deep-sea mineral exploration areas, leverage third parties to process (refine) the metals, and sell the resulting offtake. In the longer term, Impossible Metals intends to apply for its own exploration areas.

What is the total available market (TAM) for Impossible Metals?2024-07-29T09:56:42-07:00

Polymetallic nodules contain four metals (nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese). The TAM for the four metals in 2030 is estimated to be $559B per year.

What happened to the mineral processing team?2024-08-26T14:34:26-07:00

In April 2024, this team was spun out into a new company called Viridian Biometals. Impossible Metals maintains a minority holding in Viridian Biometals.

Glossary

Abyssal plains =  Is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3,000 and 6,000 meters.

AUV (Autonomous underwater vehicle) = AUVs are robot submarines that can explore the ocean without a pilot or tether.

Biodiversity = biological diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment.

CCZ (Clarion-Clipperton Zone) = A large area in the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to Mexico.

Critical Minerals = Copper, nickel, and cobalt are essential components in many of today’s rapidly growing clean energy applications.

DP (Dynamic Positioning) = is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel’s position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters.

DSM (Deep Sea Minerals) = The minerals found on the deep seabed.

EEZ (exclusive economic zone) = an area of the ocean, generally extending 200 nautical miles beyond a nation’s territorial sea, within which a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and nonliving resources.

EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) = is a tool for decision-making. It describes the positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed action.

Eureka I, II, III = Underwater robots (AUVs’) designed by Impossible metals for selective harvesting of polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor.

EV (electric vehicle) = is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion.

ISA (International Seabed Authority) = is an autonomous international organization that organizes and controls all mineral-resources-related activities in the Area for the benefit of humankind.

Megafauna = animals of a given area that can be seen with the unaided eye.

UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) = established a comprehensive international legal framework to govern activities related to the global oceans.

USBL (ultra-short baseline)  =  method of underwater acoustic positioning as GPS does not work underwater.

TAM (Total addressable market) = a metric that estimates the maximum revenue potential for a product or service if it were to capture 100% of a market.

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