The project aims to establish cooperation with the identified companies (SMEs) and universities to conduct research and development of Deep Sea Mining Pump (DSMPUMP) for increased recovery rate for deep-sea mining applications.
DSMPUMP is based on new innovative technology. The DSMPUMP System will be installed subsea, preferably on seabed, supporting one or multiple deep sea mines. An electric current is passed through the fluid inside the pump body in the presence of an intense magnetic field, which interacts with the magnetic field of the current through the fluid. An electrolyte is inserted into the fluid in order to increase its electrical conductivity. Functionally, the fluid is then the moving similarly to the conductive part of an electric motor, pushing the fluid in the upward direction.
DSMPUMP is attractive because it has no moving parts, which means that a good design might be reliable and efficient. The DSMPUMP design eliminates many of the wear and friction pieces of the conventional pumps and may lead to major cost reduction in running of a deep sea mine.
The R&D project should be completed within 30 months.
The main goals of the project are to document, design, prototype and demonstrate the concept and technology. The phase following the R&D project will be industrialization and licensing.
The overall challenge for the project is to design efficient power technology for operating on existing infrastructure, and with respect to costs and environmental aspects, combined with an economically feasible production cost for the equipment. The efficient power technology includes both electronic and hydraulic system.