About Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems

The Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) platform is designed to derisk, optimize, and secure current energy systems and provide insight into future energy systems that are secure, resilient, reliable, and affordable.

From Research to Reality

One of the primary challenges to achieving affordable and reliable energy systems is closing the gap between ambitions and real-world deployment. NREL, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), developed a visionary national research platform called Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES), which takes in the full picture—from community energy needs to technology developers and service providers—rather than evaluating technologies in isolation. This innovative approach uncovers opportunities and risks across the full energy system—spanning power generation, storage, and end uses such as transportation, industry, and buildings, and the electric grid that connects them.

Through programs like Energy to Communities, DOE, NREL, and other national laboratories are working together to provide communities access to ARIES assets to help clear obstacles to reaching their energy goals.

The Value of ARIES

• Replicates energy system complexities at a real-world scale
• Demonstrates energy system pathways using unique physical and virtual assets for local and national applications
• Reduces risk through system validation of new technologies, cybersecurity strategies, and resilient design
• Amplifies the scale and impact of research projects through collaboration across the national lab complex
• Provides data-driven insights to regulators and other stakeholders to assess the impacts of energy scenarios.

Where Energy Innovation Comes to Life

ARIES accelerates energy innovation by uniting national labs, industry, and communities in one collaborative platform—enabling partners to evaluate, validate, and scale integrated energy systems under real-world conditions.

Read more about our partners in the 2024 ARIES Annual Report and our impacts.