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.
Transport Vessels
Nodules are offloaded from the AUVs into storage onboard the vessel. The current economic models assume the use of bulk ore transport vessels. We continue to explore alternative novel methods, such as containerizing the nodules onboard the vessel. This method could eliminate vessel stability concerns related to liquefaction of the load. This also provides economic benefits, increasing the number of ports where the nodules can be transported.
Yes, a minimum of two vessels operate in the field, and while one is transiting to port, the other is servicing the robots. This inherently provides a level of redundancy if critical systems for one of the vessels take one ship out of operation. Additionally, parallel operations on each vessel are planned, with 36 launch and recovery systems on board each vessel and parallel materials handling equipment on each vessel, eliminating single points of failure.
We hope so, and our architecture and commercial model for the vessels enable us to use the best available technology. People are working on batteries, Hydrogen, and Ammonia energy systems for ships. Others are working to capture the carbon from the engines. We will adopt the best technology that is available.
Yes, our current expectation is that some level of DP will be needed, and we continue to reduce this requirement with a target to minimize the use of this capability and ideally eliminate the need for installation of this capability. Our smart launch and recovery system (SLARS) has been designed with self-mobility of the hook to engage with the AUVs at a distance from the ship, enabling the potential for minimal use and capability of the ship’s DP, and potentially the elimination of this functionality altogether.
No. We avoid the cost and complexity of a production support vessel (PSV). Impossible Metals retrofits our smart launch and recovery system (SLARS) to the transport vessels. This has a massive saving in costs.
No. As we do not require a production support vessel (PSV) we do not need to do the following transfers to the Shuttle Transport And Resupply Ship (STARS):
- Transfer of nodules from the PSV
- Transfer of fuel to the PSV
- Transport of equipment and provisions to the PSV
- Transfer of personnel to and from the PSV per crew rotation.
This will be very expensive, and there are safety concerns. It will also reduce the number of days a year the mining operation can operate.
For more details, see STARS; the missing link in dsm supply chain.
As we do not have any tethers and have a smart launch and recovery system, we can operate in a much wider range of sea states. V6 of our economic model assumes we can operate for 325 days a year.
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.
