The Metals Company, a Canadian deep sea mining exploration startup, has designed an underwater vacuum cleaner to extract valuable resources from the ocean floor.

“The Collector” is a 90 ton underwater vacuum operating from its mothership — the Hidden Gem — and featuring four nozzles and sensors for vacuuming rocks from the ocean floor.

According to its developers, the giant vacuum is expected to extract minerals like nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, which are critical ingredients for the manufacture of electric car batteries, wind turbines and solar panels, for instance.

The Metals Company suggests that their giant vacuum promises to be an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional land-based mining, which can result in issues such as toxic wastewater, deforestation, and soil contamination, among others.