Marine Robotics Lab In U.S To Develop Autonomous Systems For Underwater Mineral Harvesting

The U.S Mining Technology Company Impossible Metals is planning to build a Marine Robotics Hub in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to develop advanced systems for collecting critical minerals from the seabed with minimal environmental impact for ocean science and defence purposes.

The company will partner with universities in the U.S to strengthen the country’s capabilities in marine robotics to develop technologies with dual-use, both in commercial ocean exploration and naval applications.

The hub will function as the company’s main research and engineering centre for advancing its Eureka autonomous underwater platform, which uses a fleet of robots to harvest polymetallic nodules from the ocean without harming marine life.

The nodules contain minerals like copper, manganese, nickel, and cobalt, which are required for manufacturing batteries, electronics, defence systems, machine parts and so on.

The system’s first patents were filed in 2021, and it successfully conducted the first trial of the Eureka I autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in 2022, which collected rocks from the seabed.

The AUV’s hover above the seabed instead of dragging the collected minerals across, thus reducing ecosystem disruption. Trials of the Eureka II platform were done in 2024, and the design of the Eureka III Mk1 was finalised in 2025.

The company said that the hub will help in strengthening the U.S supply chain for minerals while reducing dependence on foreign-controlled sources.

The facility would bring together roboticists, autonomy engineers, and marine systems specialists while creating over a dozen high-paying jobs.

Each AUV has redundant parts to eliminate single points of failure and can operate independently. A Smart Launch and Recovery System supports the platform by automating the deployment and retrieval of AUVs

The system is scalable and can recover millions of tons of minerals through autonomous missions.