News from the Coordinator – Rodney Norman – IHC Mining

Welcome to the first edition of the Blue Nodules newsletter.
Ten months have passed since the kick-off of Blue Nodules at the Royal IHC shipyard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands, in February 2016. Since the kick-off meeting the project terms of reference for the assessment and integration of environment, economics and technology was completed, as an important starting point for the project. Subsequently, the design requirements for the subsea harvesting equipment , the in-situ seabed processing and the sea surface and land operation process were also completed, and the range of environmental pressures identified. From a dissemination perspective the website has been in operation from the start and the flyer is available in hard copy and on the website.
The project is currently proceeding according to schedule and work is proceeding well on the business case and assessment model, initial design of the collector, and the initial design of the vehicle propulsion and performance test. It is heartening to see that all partners are working well together and exchanging valuable information amongst each other.
Finally a big thank to all partners for the successful 2nd General Assembly meeting held at Texel, on 15 and 16 November 2016. A special thank you to our hosts, NIOZ for their warm welcome of the participants and their flawless organisation.