Facilities

NREL's state-of-the-art hydrogen and fuel cell research facilities and laboratories provide a venue for groundbreaking innovations and collaboration with partners.

Energy Systems Integration Facility

The Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) includes multiple specialized laboratories for development, characterization, fabrication, manufacturing, and validation of fuel cell components and systems and renewable fuels-to-grid integration research.

Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility

The Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility (HITRF) at the ESIF combines electrolyzers, a hydrogen fueling station, and fuel cell vehicles and serves as a proving ground for component, system, and control testing.

Photo of four vehicles lined up side by side next to a hydrogen fueling station.

National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center

The National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center (NFCTEC) is an off-network facility that provides secure management, storage, and processing of proprietary data from industry and plays a crucial role in NREL's independent, third-party analysis and validation of technologies in real-world operation.

Photo of sensor testing instruments in the Safety Sensor Testing Laboratory at the Energy Systems Integration Facility.

Sensor Laboratory

The Sensor Laboratory within the ESIF offers independent assessments of hydrogen sensors to sensor providers and end users to ensure that hydrogen sensor technology is available to meet end-user needs and to foster the proper use of sensors.

Other Collaborative Facilities and Laboratories

Photo of NREL's solar furnace primary concentrator and protection shed.

High-Flux Solar Furnace

The High-Flux Solar Furnace is designed for testing and evaluating high-temperature materials and solar-chemistry applications, including solar thermochemical hydrogen production, using concentrated sunlight.

Photo of a researcher looking inside a chamber filled with laboratory equipment.

Photobiology Research Laboratory

Scientists use the Photobiology Research Laboratory to study fuel-producing microbes, characterize and engineer fuel-producing enzymes, and perform genetic and pathway engineering of model organisms to improve production of hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels.

Science and Technology Facility

The Science and Technology Facility was designed specifically to reduce time delays associated with transferring technology to industry by providing advanced material synthesis and characterization capabilities for a wide range of scientific investigations.

Photo of scientific equipment in laboratory setting.

Solar Energy Research Facility

The Solar Energy Research Facility houses various laboratories used for photovoltaic and basic sciences activities such as developing semiconductor materials for high-efficiency solar cells, measuring and characterizing cell and module performance, and researching hydrogen generation and storage.

Photo of a man kneeling and looking underneath large testing equipment in an NREL facility.

Thermal and Catalytic Process Development Unit

At the Thermal and Catalytic Process Development Unit, researchers design and optimize processes, technologies, and equipment to thermochemically convert renewable biomass feedstocks into transportation fuels, chemicals, and products at laboratory- to- pilot scales.