--- title: Betting on AI and Robots to Automate Superconductor... description: Startups including Eden GeoPower, GeoKiln, Vema Hydrogen, and Koloma are racing to artificially produce geologic hydrogen by stimulating iron-rich underground... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Betting on AI and Robots to Automate Superconductor Discovery | daily.dev og:description: Startups including Eden GeoPower, GeoKiln, Vema Hydrogen, and Koloma are racing to artificially produce geologic hydrogen by stimulating iron-rich underground... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ImV8jidjN.png og:image:alt: Betting on AI and Robots to Automate Superconductor Discovery og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Betting on AI and Robots to Automate Superconductor Discovery **[IEEE Spectrum](https://daily.dev/sources/ieeespectrum)** · 17 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Startups including Eden GeoPower, GeoKiln, Vema Hydrogen, and Koloma are racing to artificially produce geologic hydrogen by stimulating iron-rich underground rock formations, using techniques like electrical pulse fracturing, heating, catalysts, and carbon dioxide injection. Eden uses custom Marx generators (Zeus and Thor) to create plasma channels that fracture hard rock via pulsed power, achieving up to fourfold hydrogen increases in lab tests. ARPA-E funded 16 teams with $20 million in 2024 to advance stimulation research. Despite promising lab results and field pilots in Oman, Colorado, and Massachusetts, commercial viability remains unproven, with researchers noting no single technique will likely sustain production at scale alone. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does Eden GeoPower use electricity to fracture underground rock for hydrogen production? Eden GeoPower uses custom-built Marx generators named Zeus and Thor to deliver high-voltage pulses that create a plasma channel within the rock itself, which rapidly expands and generates a shock wave that fractures the rock. This dry-pulse method forms plasma in tiny moist pockets between mineral grains, and it takes about 100 pulses to penetrate roughly 10 meters of hard rock. _daily.dev surfaces engineering deep dives like this for readers tracking novel energy extraction methods._ ### What is stimulated or engineered geologic hydrogen? Stimulated geologic hydrogen is an artificial process that turns iron-rich underground rock formations into hydrogen factories by injecting water so it oxidizes the iron and releases hydrogen gas as a byproduct. Techniques include electrical rock fracturing, underground heating, catalysts, and carbon dioxide injection, all aiming to expose more rock surface area and boost hydrogen yield beyond naturally occurring geologic hydrogen deposits. _Engineers comparing emerging clean energy approaches follow developments like these on daily.dev._ ### How much did ARPA-E invest in geologic hydrogen stimulation research? ARPA-E awarded $20 million in 2024 to 16 teams researching hydrogen stimulation technologies, under the leadership of program director Douglas Wicks. Winning approaches included fracturing rocks with fluid pressure or mechanical stimuli, using catalysts to speed hydrogen-generating reactions, and manipulating microbial communities; Eden GeoPower's electricity-based rock-fracturing project received $900,000 of that funding. _Readers following public funding trends in energy R&D can track them alongside daily.dev's tech coverage._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Europe’s AI Drive Outpaces a Fragile Chip Supply Chain](https://daily.dev/posts/europe-s-ai-drive-outpaces-a-fragile-chip-supply-chain-puagdi7ec) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Brain Implant Uses Infrared Light to Send Neural Signals](https://daily.dev/posts/brain-implant-uses-infrared-light-to-send-neural-signals-pwlz1cy7u) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A Looming Rare Earth Shortage Threatens Critical Tech](https://daily.dev/posts/a-looming-rare-earth-shortage-threatens-critical-tech-ceejn20ot) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Gravitational Wave Detectors Turn to Quantum Mechanics](https://daily.dev/posts/gravitational-wave-detectors-turn-to-quantum-mechanics-z3qx4qafc) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Tiny Engines Forge Methanol Fuel for Giant Cargo Ships](https://daily.dev/posts/tiny-engines-forge-methanol-fuel-for-giant-cargo-ships-bc7dmrbag) · IEEE Spectrum · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#startup](https://daily.dev/tags/startup), [#science](https://daily.dev/tags/science), [#robotics](https://daily.dev/tags/robotics), [#clean-energy](https://daily.dev/tags/clean-energy) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Betting on AI and Robots to Automate Superconductor Discovery","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn"},"datePublished":"2026-09-02T14:04:37.042Z","dateModified":"2026-09-02T14:12:04.769Z","description":"Startups including Eden GeoPower, GeoKiln, Vema Hydrogen, and Koloma are racing to artificially produce geologic hydrogen by stimulating iron-rich underground...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/4ff0377292238527bb668649b473d3ab?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/4ff0377292238527bb668649b473d3ab?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"IEEE Spectrum","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"IEEE Spectrum","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/b123f5e8420e492ab36f6adb30c1793a","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ieeespectrum"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"startup,science,robotics,clean-energy","timeRequired":"PT17M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"IEEE Spectrum","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ieeespectrum"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Betting on AI and Robots to Automate Superconductor Discovery"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/betting-on-ai-and-robots-to-automate-superconductor-discovery-imv8jidjn#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How does Eden GeoPower use electricity to fracture underground rock for hydrogen production?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Eden GeoPower uses custom-built Marx generators named Zeus and Thor to deliver high-voltage pulses that create a plasma channel within the rock itself, which rapidly expands and generates a shock wave that fractures the rock. This dry-pulse method forms plasma in tiny moist pockets between mineral grains, and it takes about 100 pulses to penetrate roughly 10 meters of hard rock. daily.dev surfaces engineering deep dives like this for readers tracking novel energy extraction methods."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is stimulated or engineered geologic hydrogen?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Stimulated geologic hydrogen is an artificial process that turns iron-rich underground rock formations into hydrogen factories by injecting water so it oxidizes the iron and releases hydrogen gas as a byproduct. Techniques include electrical rock fracturing, underground heating, catalysts, and carbon dioxide injection, all aiming to expose more rock surface area and boost hydrogen yield beyond naturally occurring geologic hydrogen deposits. Engineers comparing emerging clean energy approaches follow developments like these on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How much did ARPA-E invest in geologic hydrogen stimulation research?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"ARPA-E awarded $20 million in 2024 to 16 teams researching hydrogen stimulation technologies, under the leadership of program director Douglas Wicks. Winning approaches included fracturing rocks with fluid pressure or mechanical stimuli, using catalysts to speed hydrogen-generating reactions, and manipulating microbial communities; Eden GeoPower's electricity-based rock-fracturing project received $900,000 of that funding. Readers following public funding trends in energy R&D can track them alongside daily.dev's tech coverage."}}]} ```