Deep sea mining: What’s the true cost of renewable energies?

DW Documentary • Season 9 • Episode 92

About this episode

The idea is that electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines will reduce our consumption of coal, oil and gas. However, these technologies rely on many raw materials present below the seabed. The race for deep sea resources has begun. The immense demand for metals such as nickel, cobalt and copper for electromobility and alternative energy sources has so far largely been met in the Global South - in Africa, Asia and Latin America. But these deposits aren’t enough. Attention is now turning to the oceans. Here, it’s thought that vast deposits of the metals exist below the seabed. A geopolitical race has begun between states to exploit these resources. And that's not all: extraction of the metals threatens to cause major ecological damage.