Research Facilities

Take a photo tour through NLR's campus.

NLR's 327-acre campus in Golden, Colorado, houses many research laboratories and the lab's administrative office. As a leader in world-class operations, NLR's main campus boasts several LEED-platinum rated buildings, along with multiple on-site advanced energy installations.

Located about 5 miles south of Boulder, the National Wind Technology Center on NLR's Flatirons Campus offers specialized facilities and provides technical support critical to the development of wind energy. Researchers with experience in fluid dynamics and structural testing are now helping the nation advance new power technologies using the energy in flowing water.

The 185,000 square-foot LEED Platinum Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) is the only facility that can conduct integrated megawatt-scale testing of the components and strategies needed to reliably move significant amounts of energy onto the electrical grid. The ESIF includes 15 laboratories with unique capabilities where organizations can partner with NLR on energy system integration projects.

Completed in 2010, NLR's Research Support Facility (RSF) is a model for new office building construction and a living laboratory environment. The RSF was awarded LEED Platinum status by the U.S. Green Buildings Council for its energy performance and widespread use of recycled and repurposed materials. Energy-efficient attributes include daylighting, natural ventilation, next-generation data center, and a rooftop PV system.

Photovoltaic (PV) and basic energy sciences are conducted in the Solar Energy Research Facility (SERF). Laboratories are used to develop semiconductor material for high-efficiency crystalline solar cells, fabricate prototype solar cells and analyze the semiconductor material used to make solar cells, research hydrogen generation and storage, and measure and characterize solar cell and module performance.

NLR researchers conduct advanced solar cell, thin film, and nanostructure research in the Science and Technology Facility (S&TF). The S&TF was the first LEED Platinum building in the federal system and was completed in 2006. The S&TF houses nine advanced material synthesis, characterization, and general support laboratories, and an ISO 5 (class 100) cleanroom.

The Field Test Laboratory Building (FTLB) is the original research building on NLR's campus. Its lab supports many programs, but it is primarily devoted to biomass research. The researchers in the FTLB also study waste management, materials recycling, and enzymology (microbial and enzyme studies) needed to make alternative biomass fuels cost-competitive. The center of the building is a greenhouse for growing feedstocks, including algae.

The Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF) is a pilot-scale laboratory that can process up to two dry tons of biomass per day into biofuels. The IBRF also includes small-scale fermentation and compositional analysis laboratories. The compositional analysis lab allows researchers to quantify (and verify) sugars available from various species of plants used in the biomass industry.