PNNL Wins $47M Contract to Build AI-Driven Microbial Lab; Prototype AMP2 Comes Online

PNNL Launches AI-Enabled Lab to Rapidly Map Microbial Life

Microscopic organisms are at the center of a major initiative at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland that uses artificial intelligence to accelerate biological discovery. On Thursday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright tapped a few keys to commission AMP2 — the Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform — a first-of-its-kind AI-enabled prototype housed at DOE’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL).

From Prototype to Full-Scale Facility

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has awarded a $47 million contract to Ginkgo Bioworks of Boston to design and build a much larger facility: the Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability (M2PC). The planned 32,000-square-foot addition at EMSL will provide roughly ten times the lab space of the prototype and house about 100 high-tech analytical instruments. Groundbreaking is slated for next year, and M2PC is expected to be operational in 2030. Meanwhile, the AMP2 prototype will begin accepting research projects next month.

How the Autonomous System Works

Like the prototype, M2PC will operate with a high degree of autonomy. Researchers will submit hypotheses and experimental plans; robotic systems will carry out repetitive tasks — filling and loading sample containers, transporting samples between stations — around the clock. More importantly, AI will analyze results in real time and design follow-up experiments, allowing one study to flow into the next without constant human intervention.

"Autonomy and AI are rapidly changing and reshaping the way that science is done," said Douglas Mans, interim director of Earth and Biological Sciences at PNNL. "We can accomplish in days what once took weeks, months or years."

Scientific Impact and Applications

Microbes — including bacteria and fungi — represent the largest reservoir of biological function on Earth, yet scientists have characterized only a small fraction of species. The new platforms will systematically measure microbial phenotypes: growth rates, nutrient preferences, temperature and pH ranges, production lifespans for compounds of interest, and other traits. That richer, higher-resolution understanding could speed development of new medicines (including work relevant to Alzheimer’s and cancer), generate materials for energy applications, and improve industrial biotech processes by replacing trial-and-error approaches with predictive knowledge.

One planned project will test whether acid produced by certain bacteria can leach valuable metals, such as lithium and cobalt, from mine tailings — a potential route to more sustainable resource recovery.

People, Partnerships, and the Genesis Mission

The work at PNNL is part of the federal Genesis Mission, an initiative to apply AI to scientific research. Officials emphasize that AMP2 and M2PC are intended to augment scientists’ capabilities rather than replace them — increasing throughput, enabling new lines of inquiry and raising demand for trained researchers.

Sen. Maria Cantwell noted the regional economic potential, saying Washington’s life sciences sector supports more than 100,000 jobs and that PNNL’s new platform will position the state at the center of critical future industries. Secretary Wright toured PNNL on the same day as part of a pledge to visit the national labs; Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) accompanied him.

Looking Ahead

With AMP2 operational as a prototype and M2PC planned at scale, PNNL aims to transform how microbial science is done: turning fragmented, low-resolution knowledge into broad, predictive maps of microbial behavior that accelerate breakthroughs in medicine, energy and industrial biotechnology.