Can Hovering Robots Make Deep-Sea Mining Cleaner?

Impossible Metals plans pilot tests of hovering robots to gather seabed EV metals with less harm to marine life

4 Mar 2026

A US technology group is preparing pilot trials of autonomous underwater robots designed to collect battery metals from the seabed while reducing environmental disruption, as scrutiny of deep-sea mining intensifies.

Impossible Metals is developing a hovering robotic mining system that gathers polymetallic nodules, mineral-rich rocks that contain nickel, cobalt and manganese, key materials used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems.

The company’s latest vehicle, known as Eureka III, is designed to hover above the ocean floor rather than move directly across it. Equipped with robotic arms, the machine selects and lifts individual nodules from the seabed.

Traditional deep-sea mining machines typically scrape or vacuum large sections of the seafloor, a process that can stir sediment clouds which researchers say may spread over wide areas and affect marine ecosystems.

Impossible Metals argues its hovering system could reduce those impacts by limiting contact with the seabed and collecting nodules individually.

The company plans to test the technology in collaboration with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean, one of the world’s most prospective regions for seabed minerals.

The pilot programme is scheduled for early 2026, subject to environmental approvals. Trials are expected to assess whether the system can recover nodules efficiently while minimising disturbance to seabed habitats. Environmental impact assessments and consultations with stakeholders will form part of the regulatory process.

Interest in seabed minerals has grown alongside forecasts of rising demand for battery materials as electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure expand. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone alone is estimated to contain billions of tonnes of polymetallic nodules.

But deep-sea mining remains controversial. Environmental groups and marine scientists warn that large-scale extraction could damage ecosystems that remain poorly understood.

Autonomous mining systems must also prove they can operate reliably at depths of several thousand metres while achieving commercially viable recovery rates.

As regulators and international bodies continue to debate rules for seabed mining, technologies that promise lower environmental impact may shape how and whether the industry develops.