## The Potatoes That Power Teslas

There is a massive expanse of the Pacific Ocean called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Sitting on the muddy abyssal plain, 13,000 feet below the surface, are trillions of black, potato-shaped rocks called Polymetallic Nodules. These rocks are made of almost pure Cobalt, Nickel, and Manganese—the exact metals required to build electric vehicle batteries.

### FAQ

**Q: Why spend billions to send robots to the bottom of the ocean instead of digging a mine?**
A: Ore Grade. A modern terrestrial copper/cobalt mine might have an 'ore grade' of 0.4%—meaning you have to dynamite, dig, crush, and process 1,000 pounds of useless dirt to find 4 pounds of metal. Deep sea nodules are basically pure metal batteries resting on the seafloor, with zero overburden rock to blast through. You just lower a gigantic robotic vacuum cleaner attached to a 3-mile long pipe, suck them up to a ship, and melt them. If you can overcome the staggering Capital Expenditure (CapEx) of building a pump that survives 6,000 PSI of water pressure, you gain a monopoly on the green energy transition.