DTN 030: Deep Sea Gold Rush

The Big Picture

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Deep-Sea Mining Could Begin Soon, Regulated or Not

“Trillions of black, potato-size rocks known as polymetallic nodules are strewn across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone seafloor. The nodules contain valuable metals, including cobalt, copper and nickel needed for electric vehicles; rare earth elements crucial for clean energy technologies; and smaller amounts of lithium, in high demand for batteries. Surveyors expect the overall tonnage across the CCZ to be substantial, in some cases higher than the sources now mined on land. Big machines would scrape the seafloor, scooping up nodules while kicking up clouds of sediment, potentially damaging the deep sea on a vast scale by removing habitat and species and altering ecosystems. No one has yet scoured the deep sea commercially, but exploration is happening in national and international waters…and a Vancouver-based start-up called The Metals Company (TMC) is pushing to start mining the CCZ in 2024.” (Scientific American)

How a half-trillion dollars is transforming climate technology

“One year ago, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, marking the most significant action on climate change to date from the federal government. The legislation set aside hundreds of billions of dollars to support both new and existing technologies—from solar panels and heat pumps to batteries for electric vehicles—in an effort to slash costs for clean technologies and cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Since the IRA was passed on August 16, 2022, companies have collectively announced $76 billion in investments for facilities based in the US. And while the list of planned projects includes sites that will produce components for solar panels, wind turbines, and electricity transmission equipment, the majority of announcements have been for companies that are part of the EV and battery supply chains.” (MIT Tech Review)

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Deep Tech News

• Astronomers scan 11,680 nearby stars for signals from advanced civilizations
• Meta's AI Agents Learn To Move By Copying Toddlers
• Drones bomb Colorado's 3,378-acre Little Mesa fire with igniting ping pong balls
• Arecibo Observatory Shuts Down Its Science
• CATL reveals ‘Superfast Charging Battery,’ boasts 250 mi range with 10-min charge
• Waymo starts taking fares for SF robotaxis after state approval
• The space industry is starting a green revolution
• The Space Force Is Launching Its Own Swarm of Tiny Satellites
• Archer Aviation gets FAA nod to begin eVTOL flights

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Peer Review

• Scientists reveal how proteins drive growth of multiple cancer types
• Programmable DNA hydrogels for advanced cell culture and personalized medicine
• Could puncturing a satellite's battery help it deorbit faster?
• Revolutionary hardware unveils new quantum computing model
• Newly-developed AI method uses transformer models to study human cells
• Hear a classic Pink Floyd song reconstructed from listeners’ brain waves
• Magnonic computing: Faster spin waves could make novel computing systems possible
• Switching 'spin' on and off (and up and down) in quantum materials at room temperature
• Scientists find way to wipe a cell's memory to better reprogram it as a stem cell
• Could artificially dimming the sun prevent ice melt?
• 2D optical waveguides: Scientists invent smallest known way to guide light

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Funding x M&A

• Carbon Capture Projects Get $1 Billion in New Federal Funding
• Rondo Energy, a provider of zero-carbon industrial heat and power, raised $60M
• Helm.ai, a startup providing AI software for autonomous driving and robotics, raised a $55M Series C
• Aether, a nanoscale machinery company that can assemble new classes of molecules, raised a $49M Series A
• Mendaera, a healthcare robotics company, secured a $24M Series A
• Quantum algorithms startup Phasecraft raised a $16.6M Series A
• Hydrogen electrolyzer startup Advanced Ionics raised a $12.5M Series A
• Altos Radar, an automotive radar startup, raised $3.5M
• Fieldwork Robotics, a startup developing harvesting tools for berry farms, raised a $1.9M seed
• General Fusion, a nuclear fusion startup, raised a $25M Series F

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Miscellanea

Satellite pictures of other satellites / Radio operator exposure to RF/microwave radiation and the risk of brain tumors / Iowa using AI to automatically scan and ban books / How to Produce Green Hydrogen for $1/Kg / DNA evidence on dogs can help track down offenders / New Neurotechnology Is Blurring the Lines around Mental Privacy. But Are New Human Rights the Answer? / Hanging Out in Japan’s Space Village / A New Idea for How to Assemble Life / Transforming flies into degradable plastics / First 100% electric Lamborghini

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