XPeng has switched on what it calls the world’s first automated production line for advanced humanoid robots, and its IRON robot walked off that line under its own power. The Chinese automaker says the line runs with more than 80% of its core processes automated.

It’s the clearest signal yet that IRON is headed for real manufacturing and not just stage demos. XPeng is targeting mass production by the end of 2026.

Since the formation of the Earth 4.2 billion years ago, hot rock from the interior of the planet has cooled off and developed crystals that accumulated over millions of years, forming surface rocks with a layered composition, referred to as continental crust. Geologic evidence of how continental crust formed comes from large, ancient crustal blocks, called cratons. Cratons have existed for billions of years and form the cores of continents. 

Scientists have shown that the upper 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) of continental crust contains high concentrations of elements like uranium and thorium that decay and release heat over time, referred to as radiogenic elements. However, the lower 20 kilometers (12 miles) of crust has very few radiogenic elements. The cause of this planetary-scale differentiation is highly questioned, as geoscientists don’t know what formation processes could produce this unique characteristic. 

Earlier researchers suggested that changes in the concentration of radiogenic elements could occur when tectonic plates collide. Plate collision induces temperatures in the lower crust high enough to melt minerals that contain uranium and thorium, like zircon and monazite. The newly melted minerals form magma, which then rises and crystallizes in the upper crust. To test whether this process formed the layered continental crust, researchers Andrew J. Smye and Peter B. Keleman incorporated geochemical data from studies worldwide into a mathematical model comparing how concentrations of radiogenic elements vary under different temperatures. 

The team separated their global analyses into 2 categories of rocks that were buried deep in the crust and subjected to intense pressures and temperatures, via a process known as metamorphism. The first category included rocks formed from the accumulation of eroded grains buried in the deep crust that are subjected to high pressures and temperatures, called metasedimentary rocks. The second category included rocks formed when magma rises from the deep Earth and solidifies before experiencing high pressures and temperatures, called metaigneous rocks.

The researchers analyzed 3 subcategories from each of the 2 types of deep-crustal rocks. The first was rocks that experienced no intense pressure or temperature, the second was rocks subjected to 650 to 900°C (about 1,200 to 1,650°F), and the third was rocks subjected to 900 to 1,100°C (about 1,650 to 2,000°F). The researchers modeled the geochemistry of the 3 rock types at different temperatures to determine whether ultra-high-temperature metamorphism could cause crustal differentiation of radiogenic elements.

Smye and Keleman found that monazite doesn’t melt in either metasedimentary or metaigneous rocks at temperatures below 900°C, as indicated by the relatively high thorium content in these deep-crustal rocks. Alternatively, they found that above 900°C, uranium and thorium concentrations decreased in metasedimentary rocks, suggesting that minerals like zircon and monazite were melting. The melted minerals enter magma and rise into the upper crust, leaving behind metasedimentary rocks depleted in radiogenic elements by around 0.10 ppm.  

The team concluded that the enrichment of uranium and thorium in the upper continental crust requires temperatures greater than 900°C to initiate the melting of zircon and monazite in the lower crust. Temperatures above 900°C are linked to the movement and collision of continental plates. This result suggests that evidence of Earth’s differentiation has been preserved for more than 3 billion years, spanning most of the planet’s geological history. Since stable continental crust formed, uranium and thorium enrichment in the upper crust has consistently recorded layering produced by ultra-high temperature metamorphism.

The post Why is Earth’s crust layered? appeared first on Sciworthy.

Researchers say an untapped source of clean energy has been hiding beneath Western Australian soil, where some of the world’s largest iron deposits could harbor an unexpected secret.

These deposits, according to researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU), are also rich in magnetite capable of producing hydrogen when it interacts with hot water, under conditions that mirror those which occur naturally deep underground.

Such processes, the researchers say, could be stimulated in magnetite-rich locations like Western Australia’s naturally reddish Pilbara region, stimulating hydrogen production and potentially unleashing a valuable, untapped clean energy source.

An Unexpected Source of Energy  

Magnetite is abundant within the Pilbara’s vast banded iron formations, and when subsurface temperatures rise, the naturally occurring interactions between this iron-rich mineral and water lead to chemical reactions—the same kind which can produce molecular hydrogen.

“Australia could be sitting on a massive, untapped energy reserve,” said ECU Associate Professor Alireza Keshavarz of the team’s recent discovery, “and the potential is enormous.”

To better understand the processes that may hold the key to unlocking Australia’s untapped subsurface energy reserves, the ECU team began by placing samples of magnetite in water heated to 200 degrees Celsius and under extreme pressure. The experiments continued for close to two months, during which time the researchers were able to recreate some of the same conditions that occur naturally deep within the Earth.

Doing so allowed the team to look at how hydrogen naturally forms, as well as what geological conditions help to sustain its production.

“Western Australia has some of the world’s largest banded iron formations,” said Kaveh Moghanirahimi, the lead author of a recent study detailing the team’s findings.

“If we can unlock this resource at scale, it could be transformative for our energy future,” he adds.

Water May Hold the Key

Significantly, the team says they found that just having large amounts of magnetite in subsurface deposits may not be all that is required for significant hydrogen production. Another key component is having enough water present to be able to reach fresh mineral surfaces for the hydrogen-producing reactions to continue.

Importantly, the researchers found that simply having large quantities of magnetite underground may not be enough. Water must also be able to reach fresh mineral surfaces for the hydrogen-producing reactions to continue.

“Our findings show that hydrogen production depends not only on the amount of magnetite present, but also on how easily water can access fresh mineral surfaces through fractures, pores, and permeable pathways,” said Professor Stefan Iglauer, a researcher with ECU’s School of Engineering.

Hydrogen through Injection?

The researchers also say they have identified a potential method for stimulating hydrogen generation by injecting a solution into banded iron formations. This, they say, points to a novel possibility: that geological deposits of the right specific kind may also one day function as sites for engineered production of naturally generated hydrogen.

That possibility, the researchers argue, could prove to be significant as governments and industries seek lower-emission alternatives to hydrogen currently produced mainly using fossil fuels. Also, unlike conventional methods of hydrogen manufacturing, tapping geological hydrogen only requires leveraging natural reactions that occur underground.

A Step Toward the Future of Clean Energy

Presently, the research remains an early step toward determining whether the process can be translated from lab experiments into a commercially viable method of producing clean energy with the resources present in natural geological formations.

However, if researchers can continue to capitalize on methods that allow hydrogen to be generated and recovered at economical scales, there are already remarkable possibilities in terms of what Western Australia’s enormous iron formations could one day help provide.

“This work helps bridge the gap between laboratory experiments and real geological systems,” Iglauer said.

The team recently reported its findings in the paper, “Geometry-driven controls on hydrothermal natural hydrogen generation from magnetite mineral,” published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.