Energy to build biological molecules from simple inorganic chemicals. Took about 800 million years to start life. Oparin and Haldane independently said organic molecules like sugars, nucleotide bases, amino acids can form spontaneously from simpler raw materials. A week later, the flask system had organic molecules like amino acids. More likely that the reactions happened on hot rocks or clays.
Clays bind simple molecules and have ions that can be catalysts.
Polymerization could also have happened in hydrothermal vents, deep cracks in the ocean floor, which have hot water and minerals. Hydrogen sulfide and methane are common near the vents. The polymers formed more complex structures Protobionts, the hypothetical ancestor of cells, are conglomerations of abiotically produced organic polymers. Some have catalytic activity, beginnings of metabolism Microspheres form by adding water to abiotically formed proteins. Some have an electrical potential across their surfaces, like cells Can absorb materials from their surroundings, selective permeability Lots of little steps to cells, but first cells were procaryotic.