New agreement pairs subsea harvesting with domestic REE refining.

Under a new agreement to unlock critical minerals from the seafloor, ReElement Technologies Corp. is partnering with Impossible Metals Inc. to evaluate the development of the first fully domestic deep-sea nodule refining program in the United States – pairing advanced midstream processing with autonomous subsea collection systems to deliver high-purity materials essential to clean energy, defense, and industrial supply chains.

Emerging as a potential source of critical minerals, deep-sea mining has drawn increased attention from industry and regulators working to balance resource recovery with environmental considerations.

As permitting frameworks take shape, new technologies are being developed to retrieve minerals from the seafloor, specifically polymetallic nodules – clusters found on the deep ocean floor that contain cobalt, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements.

Working to advance one such method is Impossible Metals Inc., a U.S.-based robotics company preparing to deploy an autonomous harvesting platform in federal waters by 2026 that selectively collects nodules without disturbing visible marine life.

Equipped to refine a broad spectrum of feedstocks, ReElement Technologies operates a high-purity processing platform designed to recover magnet-, battery-, and defense-grade critical minerals from unconventional sources, including coal waste, end-of-life products, and concentrated ores.

Through its Indiana-based operations, the company has demonstrated the ability to separate both light and heavy rare earth elements at commercial scale using a continuous chromatography system developed in partnership with Purdue University – an alternative to traditional solvent extraction that reduces chemical use, lowers costs, and supports modular deployment.

Bringing their respective expertise together, the two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding that would position ReElement as the toll processor for materials collected by Impossible Metals – delivering separated critical minerals to downstream customers across energy, defense, and technology sectors.

"We're thrilled to begin our collaboration with ReElement," said Impossible Metals CEO Oliver Gunasekara. "Both of our teams share a clear vision for establishing an efficient, scalable, and 100% U.S. mining-to-processing supply chain for the critical materials necessary for defense and advanced industrial purposes."

Designed to assess both technical and commercial viability, the collaboration will focus on linking seabed harvesting with domestic refining to establish a scalable, end-to-end U.S. supply chain independent of Chinese processing infrastructure.

"I have known Oliver for over four years now, and the scientific and technical progress he and his team have made is extremely impressive," said ReElement Technologies CEO Mark Jensen. "We're excited to bring ReElement's advanced refining capabilities to this important mission and serve as the toll processor for materials essential to America's energy and defense security."

Following the April 2025 executive order to expand offshore critical mineral access, the collaboration arrives amid broader efforts to mobilize domestic capabilities across exploration, extraction, and refining.

By connecting harvesting systems operating in U.S. federal waters with processing infrastructure already established in Indiana, the collaboration addresses multiple links in the critical mineral supply chain.

If proven viable, the partnership could serve as a model for integrating seabed harvesting with domestic refining to secure critical mineral inputs for high-priority U.S. sectors.