Ginkgo Bioworks, which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, on Jan. 23 announced that Ginkgo Automation will design and deploy a flexible, anaerobic-enabled laboratory automation system for the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), a U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This new system is designed to support the diverse needs of multiple investigators and research teams simultaneously, enabling GLBRC scientists to more efficiently discover and optimize synthesis of biofuels and bioproducts from plant biomass.

GLBRC's mission involves numerous investigators tackling a variety of scientific challenges, requiring flexible and robust research infrastructure. The anaerobic-capable automation system Ginkgo Automation will develop is designed to enable GLBRC scientists to run multiple, diverse experiments at once, across both aerotolerant and anaerobic conditions, while increasing "walkaway" time—allowing investigators to spend more time interpreting data and planning the next generation of experiments rather than tending to routine laboratory tasks. By consolidating diverse experimental needs into a single, flexible system, Ginkgo Automation expects to help GLBRC advance its mission of enabling cost-effective, sustainable biofuel production at scale.

Ginkgo Automation's capabilities are built on years of internal expertise honed at Ginkgo Bioworks and Zymergen, encompassing hardware design, software integration, and applications development. Ginkgo Automation brings significant prior experience in automating workflows for anaerobic organisms, a key requirement for many of GLBRC's research programs. The result is a customizable, future-forward system that can be easily adapted to meet emerging research needs and support more complex workflows as GLBRC continues to pioneer innovations in the bioenergy space.

In addition to providing advanced automation hardware and software, Ginkgo Automation's deployment at GLBRC will include access to Catalyst Flow, a fully remote, active error resolution and troubleshooting support service. Catalyst Flow's proactive monitoring is expected to enable Ginkgo's scientists and engineers to identify and resolve approximately 80-90% of system errors remotely, without the need for user-initiated tickets. Remote recovery is especially critical when working within an anaerobic chamber, because of how disruptive environmental breaches are to research throughput. This helps enable extended walkaway time, improved instrument uptime, and minimized interruptions to research activities, allowing investigators at GLBRC to focus on innovation rather than maintenance.

"This project brings us one step closer to transforming the way researchers leverage laboratory automation," said Will Serber, Head of Ginkgo Automation. "With the design of this new, automated, anaerobic-enabled system, we're not just pushing boundaries—we're reimagining what's possible in the lab. By giving GLBRC investigators the ability to run flexible, multi-user, lab-directed evolution workflows in a highly automated manner, we expect this system to accelerate scientific progress. Ultimately, it's about empowering researchers to achieve more with less effort and drive real-world impact in biofuels and bioproducts development."

"We're excited to incorporate this advanced automation system into our workflows," said Michael Botts, Laboratory Automation Coordinator at GLBRC. "Our researchers tackle a wide range of scientific challenges, from optimizing microbial conversion processes to exploring new feedstocks. Having a single, flexible platform that can manage both anaerobic and aerobic conditions—and can run multiple experiments simultaneously—will be a game-changer. It frees our scientists to focus on innovation and analysis, rather than routine lab tasks, ultimately helping us advance our mission more efficiently."

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