Today, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the first awards for its Genesis Mission, an initiative established around leveraging AI to target key bottlenecks and drive rapid strategic breakthroughs in areas like quantum computing and advanced manufacturing. Research scientists from EESA will lead six of the new projects, and collaborate with partners on eight others, using AI to tackle complex issues such as predicting water supplies for energy security and optimizing the recovery of critical minerals vital for the electrification transition. 

“These Genesis Mission awards reflect Berkeley Lab’s capabilities in applying AI to urgent Earth and environmental challenges — from water security and subsurface energy to critical minerals and nuclear waste management,” said Charuleka Varadharajan who leads the Earth AI and Data Program for Berkeley Lab. “This work directly leverages our deep expertise in AI for science, Earth systems modeling, high-performance computing,  complex data management, and strong partnerships across institutions.”

DOE established the Genesis Mission as a federally coordinated effort, bringing together federal agencies, national labs, industry, and academia to address 33 priority challenges designed to accelerate American innovation in energy, discovery science, and national security. EESA scientists are uniquely positioned to drive transformative energy and environmental research. Leveraging Berkeley Lab’s team science heritage, they are integrating decades of expert knowledge of Earth system processes with the latest advances in AI and machine learning. 

Collaborating with partners from across the DOE complex, universities, and industry, they apply innovative computing methods and data solutions to advance AI in tackling critical energy and environmental challenges. This foundation is essential for applying AI models and developing the methods and tools needed to accelerate critical-mineral recovery and deploy subsurface energy sources. It also enables intelligent water-resource management and supports nuclear-waste isolation and disposal.

The projects that EESA leads are:

  • AI to Predict Water Supplies for Energy with Novel Precision: Scientists will develop an artificial intelligence framework to jointly predict surface and groundwater dynamics nationwide, supporting energy and water security. Read about this project led by Charuleka Varadharajan.
  • Breaking Silos: AI for Nuclear Waste Repository Design: AI will enable a streamlined environment to analyze nuclear waste repository design, dissolving existing silos through a digital-twin approach. Read about this project led by LianGe Zheng.
  • Novel AI Workflow for Critical Minerals in Geosystems: The team will use AI to optimize recovery of critical minerals from copper, molybdenum, platinum, chromium, and nickel mineral deposits. Read about this project led by Carl Steefel.
  • Predicting Subsurface Fractures with AI for Energy: Scientists will combine artificial intelligence and geophysical observations to improve prediction of subsurface fractures, advancing geothermal and other energy technologies. Read about this project led by Rie Nakata.
  • Safely Storing Nuclear Waste with Advanced 3D Models: Researchers will develop AI-assisted 3D geological models that can effectively identify suitable sites for subsurface nuclear waste storage. Read about this project led by Craig Ulrich.
  • Meeting Water-Energy Demand with Local, Actionable Predictions: To predict water resources for energy infrastructure, scientists will use AI to develop a highly accurate prediction system for water availability. Read about this project led by Qing Zhu.

Learn more about the 13 Berkeley Lab projects funded by the Genesis Mission.