Deposits of valuable raw materials such as nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earths were discovered in the deep sea over 140 years ago. Mining them has so far been technically almost impossible, economically unprofitable and also involves ecological risks that cannot be adequately assessed. Global demand for these precious metals and minerals is currently rising continuously. The raw materials are of critical importance for the energy transition, among other things, because they are required for the production of electricity storage systems, wind turbines and solar plants, for example. The supply of these raw materials is becoming increasingly critical due to the political situation in individual producing countries, rising extraction costs and the tightening of social and environmental standards. Against this backdrop, the development of new raw material deposits is being intensified and previously unutilised resources in the deep sea are (once again) coming into focus. This poses technical, ecological and regulatory challenges. The development of technologies for the exploration and extraction of raw materials in the deep sea is being driven forward. Various prototype technologies are available for the extraction of mineral resources from the deep sea, but they cannot yet be used on an industrial scale or under the extreme conditions of potential extraction areas. Although deep-sea mining can make a contribution to the supply of raw materials - for example, underwater manganese reserves are roughly equivalent to those on land - mining is currently considered to be associated with considerable ecological risks. Initial experimental extraction tests in the deep sea indicate irreparable environmental damage. The consequences for the highly sensitive ecosystem of the deep sea have not yet been sufficiently researched. Scientific knowledge is patchy, which makes it difficult to predict the harmful effects of deep-sea mining, such as the extinction of marine species. In regulatory terms, a large proportion of the deposits relevant to deep-sea mining are located outside the respective national territories of coastal states and are therefore subject to the supervision of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and, according to the UN definition, are part of the "Common Heritage of Mankind". These areas must be protected from harmful effects on the marine environment, among other things. There is an acute need for regulation at international level after the Pacific state of Nauru activated the two-year clause of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, according to which rules for the implementation of a deep-sea mining project must be developed within two years of its announcement (by 2023 in the case of Nauru). Negotiations with the ISA are currently underway (as of November 2022).