A controversial project to mine the Pacific ocean floor has suffered a rocky start after investors withheld almost $500 million in funding, Bloomberg reports.
TMC The Metals Company, formerly known as DeepGreen went public last week, after merging with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition. But it was an underwhelming debut. The shares sank 11% on Friday.
The Metals Company’s controversial plan to mine the seafloor is a tale of questionable green credentials and SPAC disappointment.
Despite having no revenues and around two dozen employees, the start-up was valued at more than $2 billion by its blank-check partner. It plans to exploit a rich deposit of battery metals located on the seafloor in between Hawaii and Mexico. It says these minerals are sufficient to electrify 280 million vehicles.
However, the Canadian start-up has had an early cash disappointment. The SPAC merger ended up delivering only $137 million of fresh money, as investors asked for their money back or failed to deliver promised funding. The company estimates that $7 billion is needed for large-scale commercial production. Read more.
