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These metals are currently sourced from declining terrestrial reserves, making deep-sea polymetallic nodules a promising alternative. However, current metal extraction methods are lengthy and energy and carbon intensive, emitting 45, 28, and 4 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton of nickel, cobalt, and copper, respectively. We present a fossil-free hydrogen plasma\u2013based reduction process, powered by green hydrogen and renewable energy, which condenses calcination, smelting, reduction, and refining into a single-step metal extraction, reducing direct carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90% and improving energy efficiency by up to 18%. In addition, we demonstrate selective copper recovery via a heat treatment requiring no acids or reducing agents, offering a more sustainable and cost-effective pathway for critical metal extraction from polymetallic nodules.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aea1223","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,21]],"date-time":"2025-11-21T18:59:23Z","timestamp":1763751563000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34133\/aaas_crossmark","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Low-waste, single-step, sustainable extraction of critical metals from deep-sea polymetallic nodules"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1215-6892","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ubaid","family":"Manzoor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials, 40237 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1728-9027","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Thomas","family":"L\u00fcttke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bundesanstalt f\u00fcr Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, 30655 Hannover, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0194-6124","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dierk","family":"Raabe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials, 40237 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5761-4981","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Isnaldi R.","family":"Souza Filho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials, 40237 D\u00fcsseldorf, Germany."},{"name":"Institut Jean Lamour, CNRS (UMR 7198), Universit\u00e9 de Lorraine, F-54000 Nancy, France."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrev.2c00799"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.resconrec.2019.104669"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mineng.2024.108976"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.resconrec.2013.10.005"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","unstructured":"A. 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