DNAMICOur project
DNA Microfactory for Autonomous Archiving
End-to-end automated microfactory: codec, proprietary synthesis, encapsulation, retrieval and reading for long-term archival. Coordinated by Genomika.
Research foundation · 2023–2026
DNA Microfactory for Autonomous Archiving.
The DNAMIC startup grew out of a three-year EIC Pathfinder research project, coordinated by UAB Genomika with a consortium of partners across the EU, Switzerland and the UK, and embedded in DigNA — the European portfolio of nine DNA data-storage projects. This page preserves the project's public record and the ecosystem around it, as the startup takes over the brand and continues the work commercially.
The project
We live in a society that produces and requires more and more data every year — yet current data-storage strategies are not adequate for long-term preservation. The DNAMIC Pathfinder project proposed an autonomous solution built around a low-energy-consumption microfactory for end-to-end DNA-based data archiving: from encoding to decoding via synthesis, storage, quality control and sequencing.
The microfactory is interoperable and future-proof thanks to technology blocks that can be modified or replaced. The solution is compliant with the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model (ISO 14721). To enable disaster recovery — critical for long-term storage — the project developed a novel encoding scheme that produces self-contained data fragments resilient to strand-level loss.
Over three years the consortium built the codec, synthesis chemistry, encapsulation, reader automation, and the integration with the OLOS long-term preservation system that now form the core of the DNAMIC commercial product. The Pathfinder project ended in September 2026; the startup, a Genomika spin-out, carries the technology and team forward.
Workpackages
The consortium organised three years of work into six workpackages. Each carried a specific objective and a lead partner, feeding into the integrated microfactory and its dissemination.
WP1
Management
Define the organisation and provide the structure to communicate within the consortium and with external stakeholders. Maintain the tools and methods to keep track of progress and attain contractual objectives including reporting.
WP2
Architecture
Define the overall system architecture, including the data and process flows. Validate the end-to-end solution with real-world data.
WP3
Optimised writing & reading
Develop universal encoding strategies to optimise the write process and minimise the storage space (number of nucleotides) used. Improve readout through sequencing optimisation.
WP4
Microfactory and sample processing
Develop and optimise the microfactory for DNA processing and manipulation, including the smart pipette and its integration. Develop and integrate autonomous synthesis, preparation and sequencing steps. Integrate within the OLOS long-term preservation system.
WP5
Exploitation and dissemination
Cover dissemination (website, publications, public relations, open science, Data Management Plan) and exploitation (IP, stakeholder meetings and interface).
WP6
Portfolio activities
Strengthen prospects for successful completion and the initial steps toward market by developing synergies and collaborations with the other projects funded under the 2022 EIC Pathfinder challenge on DNA-based digital data storage — the DigNA portfolio.
DigNA — the European DNA data-storage portfolio
DigNA is the umbrella name for the nine projects funded under the 2022 EIC Pathfinder Challenge on "DNA-based digital data storage". The challenge sought scalable, reliable approaches to DNA as a data-storage medium — improving read, write and edit operations, exploring alternative coding techniques and polymeric substrates, and pushing throughput, length, reliability, speed and cost well beyond the state of the art. DNAMIC is one of the nine.
Portfolio projects
PEARL-DNA
Interoperable end-to-end platform
Scalable, sustainable, high-throughput technologies spanning the full DNA data-storage pipeline.
DiDAX
Computational, chemical & biotech solutions
Improved DNA data storage via in-product information, cryptography and long-term archiving approaches.
DISCO
DNA-based infrastructure for storage and computation
Joining storage and in-molecule computation into a single infrastructure stack.
Dura-store
Dynamic, ultra-stable, random-access RNA retrieval
Exploring RNA as the carrier for fast random-access molecular storage.
MIDNA
Microbe-synthesised DNA nanostructures
Display-controlled storage cartridges built from biologically produced DNA nanostructures.
HYPERION
HYPERION
Enzymatic DNA synthesis on CMOS chips
Affordable, scalable DNA writing through a very dense semiconductor integrated circuit.
NEO DNA
NEO DNA
Next-generation molecular data storage
Novel writing and reading chemistries targeting a step-change in molecular storage performance.
TEXTA-DNA
TEXTA-DNA
Text storage & retrieval in encapsulated nanofibres
High-throughput oligo synthesis and NGS for text-scale digital storage in DNA-bearing nanofibre capsules.
Cross-portfolio working groups
To structure and intensify collaboration across the portfolio, four working groups were created. DNAMIC partners participate in all four.
WG1 Technical synergies
WG2 Outreach & public engagement
WG3 Metrics, standards & roadmapping
WG4 IP protection & exploitation
Consortium
Eight partners across five countries contributed to DNAMIC — coordinated by Genomika, with academic and industrial participants and associated partners in Switzerland and the United Kingdom, covering codec, chemistry, hardware, and archival integration.
Project coordinator
Project partners
HELICES
Helices Biological Photolithography GmbH
Austria
