Lifecycle Assessment by
Benchmark Shows TMC's NORI-D Nodule Project Could Outperform
Land-Based Routes of Producing Nickel, Copper and Cobalt in Almost
Every Impact Category Analyzed
-
Reviewed by an independent third-party expert,
the ISO-standard-compliant Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) completed by
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence compared the production of key
energy transition metals (nickel, cobalt and copper) from the
NORI-D Nodule Project to key land-based production routes for the
same metals
-
The LCA scope covered mining, transport,
processing and refining, and focused on seven impact categories
including: carbon dioxide-equivalent
(CO2e) and particulate emissions; marine and
freshwater eutrophication; terrestrial acidification; stratospheric
ozone depletion; as well as additional research into waste
generation
-
Benchmark's LCA shows the NORI-D Nodule Project
model performed better in almost every impact category analyzed
than all the land-based routes chosen for comparison
-
This LCA follows several years of investment by
TMC in peer-reviewed industry-level LCA research to understand
global environmental and social impacts of producing battery metals
from seafloor nodules and how they compare to current metal
production from land ores
NEW YORK — March 22, 2023 --
InvestorsHub NewsWire -- TMC the metals company Inc.
("TMC" or "The Metals Company"), an explorer of
lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules,
today announced that leading lithium-ion battery supply chain
research firm, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence ("Benchmark"), has
completed an independent third-party lifecycle assessment of the
environmental impacts of the Company's planned NORI-D Polymetallic
Nodule Project as it looks to bring online the planet's largest
undeveloped deposit of critical battery metals. The full LCA report
can be downloaded
here and a summary document
here.
Benchmark's team of LCA practitioners set out
to assess the potential impacts of mining, transport, processing
and refining ('cradle-to-gate') of important battery materials
including an intermediate NiCuCo matte product and final
end-products nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate and copper cathode from
seafloor polymetallic nodules collected from the NORI-D area. They
then compared these impacts to producing the same metals via key
land-based routes, including from Indonesian nickel laterites and
mixed sulfides and oxides mined in the DRC. These raw material
inputs are widely used in active cathode materials (CAM) for
nickel-rich cathode chemistries for lithium-ion batteries and
electrical wiring, enabling the rapid growth of electrified
transport and energy storage.
Seven environmental impact categories critical
for the metal industry were analyzed— global warming potential,
stratospheric ozone depletion, terrestrial acidification,
freshwater and marine eutrophication, particulate matter formation,
water consumption—and supplementary research into waste generation
was also conducted. Nickel, cobalt and copper products derived from
the NORI-D Nodule Project performed better in almost every impact
category, except for global warming potential (GWP) and water
consumption of producing cobalt sulfate, where one land-based route
performed better. With over half of nickel now being sourced from
beneath biodiverse rainforests and carbon sinks in Indonesia, the
study found that TMC's nickel sulfate product would outperform not
just Indonesian nickel but all other key land-based production
routes, lowering emissions by between 70-80% on average, including
with 70% lower GWP.
"This lifecycle assessment is one of the many
science-based tools that TMC is using to quantify the impacts of
our NORI-D project, which is helping us achieve two stated goals:
to identify the impact hotspots of our future operations to address
them before they begin; and to provide a clear picture of how they
compare to the existing sources of the same metals today," said
Erica Ocampo, Chief Sustainability Officer for The Metals Company.
"Every extractive activity has an impact on our planet and as
society sets about securing the raw materials critical for the
energy transition, we must carefully consider the environmental and
social costs of all the options on the table, and use the data to
make informed decisions about what costs are acceptable. LCAs like
the one prepared by Benchmark are invaluable in helping us answer
these challenging questions. Importantly, this LCA does not cover
social impacts or impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem
function—these impacts for the offshore nodule collection part of
the lifecycle are being analyzed as part of our ongoing NORI-D
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment program."
Amid a historic decline in ore
grades and in the face of rapidly rising demand, the search for new
sources of metals for the energy transition risks exacerbating the
environmental and social impacts of mining on land. Production of
energy transition metals will
need to increase six-fold by 2040 to meet the world's ambitious
climate targets, according to the International Energy Agency.
TMC's portfolio of nodule projects contains an estimated
in situ
resource of battery metals
equivalent to the requirements of 280 million electric vehicles –
approximately the size of the entire U.S. light vehicle
fleet.
In January, TMC announced the
publication of a
peer-reviewed study in the
Yale Journal
of Industrial Ecology which found that seafloor
polymetallic nodules could significantly reduce —and in some
scenarios eliminate — the onshore solid waste streams typically
generated by metal production from land ores. An earlier
peer-reviewed study – published in the Journal of
Cleaner Production – found that sourcing critical battery metals
from seafloor nodules could reduce the lifecycle climate change
impacts by up to 90%, compared to land ores.
About The Metals
Company
The Metals Company is an explorer of
lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on
a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the clean energy transition
with the least possible negative environmental and social impact
and (2) accelerate the transition to a circular metal economy. The
Company through its subsidiaries holds exploration and commercial
rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion
Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International
Seabed Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru,
Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga.
About Benchmark Mineral
Intelligence
Benchmark is the world's leading provider of
actionable intelligence for the lithium-ion battery and electric
vehicle supply chain. Benchmark's expertise, together with unique
and rigorous data collection processes, add real knowledge to
opaque industries that are central to the lithium-ion economy.
Their services guide the biggest investment decisions, government
policy and industry collaboration around the world. Benchmark's
expertise is reinforced by its ESG division that offers a set of
subscription and consultancy services providing robust metrics and
Life Cycle Assessments measuring the sustainability of the EV
supply chain build out. Benchmark ESG provides bespoke independent
assessments of the material risks organizations face and
investor-driven analysis, driving ESG through the heart of the EV
supply chain's companies. Benchmark ESG assessments assist in
reducing future compensation associated with poor ESG risk
identification in an industry where sustainability is being widely
critiqued.
From the mine to cathodes and
anodes, through to the lithium-ion battery cell, Benchmark's entire
supply chain approach is unique and relied upon the world over.
More information is available at http://www.benchmarkminerals.com
More
Info
Media |
media@metals.co
Investors
| investors@metals.co
Forward Looking
Statements
Certain statements made in this press release
are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for
purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally
are accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will,"
"estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should,"
"would," "plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future,"
"outlook" and similar expressions that predict or indicate future
events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release
include, without limitation, statements that waste streams could be
reduced by using deep-sea nodules. These forward-looking statements
involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the
actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the
forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside TMC's
control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such
differences include, but are not limited to: the outcomes of
research conducted by third parties including the Life Cycle
Assessments; regulatory uncertainties and the impact of government
regulation and political instability on TMC's resource activities;
changes to any of the laws, rules, regulations or policies to which
TMC is subject; the impact of extensive and costly environmental
requirements on TMC's operations; environmental liabilities; the
impact of polymetallic nodule collection on biodiversity in the CCZ
and recovery rates of impacted ecosystems; TMC's ability to develop
minerals in sufficient grade or quantities to justify commercial
operations; the lack of development of seafloor polymetallic nodule
deposit; uncertainty in the estimates for mineral resource
calculations from certain contract areas and for the grade and
quality of polymetallic nodule deposits; risks associated with
natural hazards; uncertainty with respect to the specialized
treatment and processing of polymetallic nodules that TMC may
recover; risks associated with collection, development and
processing operations; fluctuations in transportation costs;
testing and manufacturing of equipment; risks associated with TMC's
limited operating history; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;
risks associated with TMC's intellectual property; and other risks
and uncertainties, including those in the "Risk Factors" sections,
included in the final prospectus and definitive proxy statement,
dated and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") on August 12, 2021 relating to the business combination, in
TMC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2021, filed by TMC with the SEC on March 25, 2022, and in TMC's
other future filings with the SEC. TMC cautions that the foregoing
list of factors is not exclusive. TMC cautions readers not to place
undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date made. TMC does not undertake or accept any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change
in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or
circumstances on which any such statement is based except as
required by law.