Data and Tools

To support global energy stability and advance U.S. energy and economic goals, NLR provides international partners with open-access data and cutting-edge tools that strengthen energy security and accelerate deployment of innovative energy technologies.

Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool

The Battery Lifetime Analysis and Simulation Tool (BLAST) estimates how long electric vehicle batteries will last, what their payback is, and ways to lengthen their lifetimes. It accounts for various temperatures, charging station configuration, and driving patterns.

Building and Urban Systems Modeling

We have adapted for other countries our Building Energy Optimization (BEopt) for optimizing the energy performance of commercial and residential buildings.

We're also pioneering design and use of state-of-the-art tools for optimizing high-performance buildings and new urban developments, including the URBANopt analytics platform.

Critical Minerals and Supply Chain Analysis

NLR applies techno-economic modeling, life-cycle analysis, and infrastructure modeling to mineral supply chains, with tools that evaluate supply, demand, investment, and trade dynamics across international markets. This analysis supports industry, policymakers, and global partners in mitigating risks and capturing opportunities, and international adaptation ensures country-specific insights that inform bilateral or multilateral collaboration.

NLR's NAATBatt Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database offers a model for building comprehensive national databases of mining, manufacturing, and recycling assets.

The Materials Flows through Industry (MFI) Tool analyzes industrial energy and material use to reveal efficiency and cost-reduction opportunities.

The Scenario Evaluation and Regionalization Analysis (SERA) Model evaluates supply and demand dynamics to design cost-optimal hydrogen infrastructure and broader mineral logistics.

Cybersecurity Assessment Tools

NLR's Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework (DER-CF) evaluates a facility's distributed energy resource cybersecurity posture and provides customized recommendations. It helps organizations assess risks, benchmark cybersecurity across multiple sites, and protect energy assets for a more secure grid. After completing an assessment, users receive a detailed report with identified risks and an improvement plan.

Economic Impact and Development Impact Assessment Tools

We partner with countries around the world to analyze job and other economic impacts associated with energy development using the Jobs and Economic Development Impacts International Model (I-JEDI).

In addition, we've worked with various partners in evaluating life cycle energy-water-food production interfaces and impacts.

Energy Screening Tools

NLR collaborates with countries and institutional partners to apply a portfolio of world-class tools for site specific evaluation of determining the ideal combination of generation, storage, and electrification technologies to achieve cost savings, resilience, and energy performance goals. This includes REopt^®, which is a techno-economic analysis tool used to optimize energy systems for buildings, campuses, communities, and microgrids.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection Tool

NLR developed the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection Tool (EVI-Pro) to provide guidance on plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to regional and national stakeholders. It enables users to evaluate demand or plug-in electric vehicle charging and the infrastructure investment needed to service this demand.

Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator

The Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) helps fleet managers assess the performance and fuel savings of various vehicle technologies on their drive cycle. Main inputs include drive cycle, vehicle type, and vehicle size. Outputs include fuel use, cost savings, and more.

Geothermal Resource Assessment

NLR's open-source geothermal tools help partners identify promising resources, reduce exploration risk, and evaluate project economics.

geoPFA is a Python framework for customizable, reproducible play fairway analysis in 2D and 3D. It integrates geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and environmental data to generate probability maps and models that highlight areas with the highest resource potential.

GEOPHIRES-X evaluates the technical and economic performance of geothermal plant designs, helping partners assess project feasibility and costs.

Grid Modernization and Power System Planning

NLR develops and applies to other countries systemwide planning tools that model complex grid operations to support reliable, secure energy at every scale that meets growing needs.

This includes Sienna, a flexible modeling framework designed to build, solve, and analyze scheduling problems and dynamic simulations for quasi-static infrastructure systems. Developed by NLR, it advances the ability to model individual and integrated energy infrastructure systems across various spatial and temporal scales.

Electric Grid Generative Pretrained Transformer applies machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve predictions of energy demand generation availability, and the impact of various generation sources on the grid. This artificial intelligence-driven decision support helps grid operators in any country strength power system performance, from proactive balancing and cost-effective operation to cybersecurity, resilience, and high-fidelity digital twin modeling.

NLR also makes efforts to connect power system practitioners with the appropriate tools for their unique needs. The Global Power System Transformation Consortium (G-PST) Open Tools Portal documents a variety of free and open-source software tools and datasets that can be used to plan and operate advanced power systems.

Techno-Economic Analysis

NLR's System Advisor Model™ (SAM™) performs techno-economic analysis of advanced energy technologies and is used by project managers, engineers, policy analysts, and researchers to model various energy systems, including geothermal, biomass, marine energy, photovoltaics, battery storage, solar water heating, and fuel cells. SAM also supports financial modeling for residential and commercial behind-the-meter projects, power purchase agreements, and third-party ownership structures.