The Metals Company Appoints Andy Jones As Chief Technology Officer

Key Hire Made In Advance of Merger with the Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SOAC)

• CTO will lead development of The Metals Company’s Adaptive Management System (AMS), a stack of sophisticated marine technology and artificial intelligence to enable deep-sea nodule collection with the least possible environmental impact
• Mr. Jones brings a deep background in technology and corporate IT to support The Metals Company at a critical time of growth
• A ‘Track and Trace’ system, which will enable battery metals and their ESG impacts to be tracked from seafloor through the EV battery supply chain to end-of-life return, will be a key system developed by the new CTO

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Metals Company (TMC), formerly known as DeepGreen Metals, today announced that Andy Jones has joined the leadership team as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As the company’s first CTO, Mr. Jones will play a key role in developing an adaptive management system (AMS) integrating marine technology with machine learning to create a virtual replica of the marine operating environment to adapt operations in real time in order to keep environmental impacts below predetermined thresholds. The Metals Company, which is exploring for lower-impact battery metals from polymetallic nodules lying on the seafloor, is preparing for a public listing following its announcement that it entered into a definitive business combination agreement with the Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: SOAC).

Mr. Jones brings over 30 years in technology and software development experience to The Metals Company and is a specialist in large-scale, business-critical and data-driven applications with a focus on security and technical excellence. He will begin developing TMC’s ‘Track and Trace’ system, which will enable the company to track and trace provenance and ESG impacts of metal from seafloor to customer gate and then through the supply chain, throughout the product lifecycle until the end-of-life return of the used metal. Formerly at media services provider, AdStream, where he oversaw growth from start-up to global adtech platform, Mr. Jones joins TMC from healthcare data business Pavilion Health/PKS. He brings extensive experience as a hands-on technologist and systems architect.

“As The Metals Company enters this exciting growth phase, we require an experienced technologist to lead innovative new systems development while scaling existing technologies and platforms,” said Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company. “Andy’s expertise will advance our mission to protect ocean health while addressing the supply chain deficit for critical battery metals for EVs and energy storage. I’m very pleased to welcome him to the team.”

The Metals Company through its subsidiaries holds exploration rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean. By replicating the marine operating environment, the AMS system will send real-time environmental performance data to the cloud for regulator and stakeholder monitoring.

About The Metals Company

The Metals Company (formerly DeepGreen) is a Canadian developer of lower-impact battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, on a dual mission: (1) supply metals for the clean energy transition with the least possible negative environmental and social impact and (2) accelerate the transition to a circular metal economy. The company through its subsidiaries holds exploration and commercial rights to three polymetallic nodule contract areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean regulated by the International Seabed Authority and sponsored by the governments of Nauru, Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga. In March, DeepGreen announced that it had entered into a business combination agreement with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation (SOAC) to accelerate project development and take it public on NASDAQ as The Metals Company. More information is available at deep.green.

About Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation

Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation is a SPAC formed for the purpose of entering into a business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue a business combination in any industry, the Company intends to focus its search for a business that exists within industries that benefit from strong Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) profiles. While investing in ESG covers a broad range of themes, the Company is focused on evaluating suitable targets that have existing environmental sustainability practices or that may benefit, both operationally and economically, from the founders’ and management team’s commitment and expertise in executing such practices. For more information, visit greenspac.com.