Impacts

Across renewable energy disciplines, NREL researchers are impacting innovations in advanced manufacturing.

Why NREL Supports Advanced Manufacturing

NREL's Advanced Manufacturing Program is focused on developing advanced materials and manufacturing processes to drive industrial decarbonization and enable cost-effective clean energy solutions of the future.

With support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NREL is conducting research on advanced manufacturing technologies such as power electronics, roll-to-roll manufacturing, and thermoplastic resins to help the United States reach manufacturing goals such as increasing product recyclability, powering processes with renewable energy, and improving domestic supply chains.

2023 Accomplishments

Staff Honors: Our Team Is Excelling

Meet the team in the Manufacturing Masterminds staff profile series.

Congratulations on Recent Achievements

Donal Finegan
A researcher who was interviewed about his revolutionary battery manufacturing work on Colorado's Morning News with Marty Lenz and Jeana Gondek

David Green, Joshua Sperling, Michael Talmadge, Ariel Miara, Kurban Sitterly, Alana Wilson, Sertac Akar, and Parthiv Kurup
Eight researchers who published an article selected for a 2022 ACS ES&T Engineering Best Paper Award

Samantha Reese
A senior engineer/analyst who was named one of the women researchers at the forefront of crystal engineering

Sreekant Narumanchi
A researcher who won a medal for contributions to the field of power electronics

Mou Paul and Abhishek Roy
Materials scientists who won an award for their work in global water sustainability

Scott Mauger and Michael Ulsh
Scientists who were honored for their contributions to coating science and technology

What NREL Is Working On—Maybe With You

NREL staff support research on several developing and crucial manufacturing topics that help bring the country closer to its clean energy and zero-emission economy goals, including:

Industrial decarbonization to decrease emissions (and build up the supply chain)

Sustainability of renewable energy (developing biomass fuels and recyclable wind turbine blades)

Energy storage and energy efficiency (such as in buildings and on the electric grid)

Water desalination (such as processes and tools to turn nontraditional source waters into drinking water)

Material and engineering of technologies (such as solar panels and medical devices).

"I was attracted to NREL for two reasons: the lab’s mission to advance energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable power technologies as well as its historical, core strength in the design and discovery of new semiconductor materials for photovoltaic solar cells and other applications."

Andriy Zakutayev
Materials Scientist

"We have a long way to go to get on the moon. But being able to move toward a cleaner power source would benefit, well, the Earth, which benefits us."

Robynne Murray
Mechanical Engineer

Peruse NREL's advanced manufacturing news and explore examples of how NREL is collaborating with partners, programs, and the public on these topics and more through prizes and technical assistance programs.

Reach out to learn more about how you can connect with the lab's advanced manufacturing facilities, data and tools, and team. You can even take a 3D virtual tour of some of the lab's manufacturing facilities or read its publications.

Watch How NREL Is Transforming the Advanced Manufacturing Industry

View NREL's manufacturing playlist on YouTube.