Ginkgo Bioworks To Build Automated Anaerobic Phenotyping Platform For EMSL Using Reconfigurable Automation Cart Technology

Ginkgo will build a platform driven by its Reconfigurable Automation Carts (RACs) technology to enable EMSL's open-ended exploration of bioconomy-relevant microbes

BOSTON, July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE:DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, today announced that the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a leading U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, has selected Ginkgo Automation to deliver a state-of-the-art automated anaerobic phenotyping platform at its Richland, Washington campus. This purchase marks a significant step in EMSL's mission to advance fundamental biological research supporting U.S. energy production, ensuring leadership in the bioeconomy, and establishing critical materials supply-chain resilience.

Under this $4.66M contract, Ginkgo will construct and install a fully integrated workcell comprising 18 different devices housed within a modular anaerobic chamber at EMSL. The system was designed in partnership with EMSL and will use Ginkgo Automation's Reconfigurable Automation Cart (RAC) technology, a modular and extensible automation system designed to enhance laboratory throughput, efficiency, and data quality, while remaining extremely low-touch. The system aims to enable EMSL scientists working with users of the facility to remotely operate complex end-to-end anaerobic phenotyping workflows using a diverse array of instruments, streamlining research processes and accelerating discovery.

Ginkgo Automation's systems are engineered for flexible R&D at medium to high throughput, offering seamless integration of state-of-the-art lab equipment and providing robust data capture for research programs. Ginkgo's technology uses a modern web-based software stack designed for programmatic control via API gateway access, which enables AI-driven autonomous science to further accelerate discovery. This particular deployment is a comprehensive solution for remotely operating automated anaerobic phenotyping workflows on variable mixes of instruments physically located at EMSL. Ginkgo Automation believes these capabilities will empower researchers to move towards fully autonomous science workflows, accelerating discovery and characterization of new biological phenomena.