Work With Us

At the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), NREL offers partners access to an award-winning, state-of-the-art lab space and specialized scientists and engineers to help move new technologies forward.

The ESIF's scientific capabilities—researchers, instruments, and facilities—are available for use by the global research community. See below for a variety of ways to get involved.

Use Our Labs

Through our facility user program, visiting researchers can access the ESIF and its premier laboratories.

If you're a researcher, learn how you can access the ESIF's capabilities to implement your specific projects.

To determine if working with us is the right fit for you, check out the full list of capabilities the ESIF has to offer.

Calls for Proposals

Visit the open call for user access to learn more about accessing the ESIF as an external organization and for information on NREL's proposal process.

Partner With Us

The ESIF was designed to be a connection point where industry, academia, and government can work together on the most complex and important global energy challenges of our time.

Discover our partnership opportunities.

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"The wealth of supercomputing resources allows us to simulate complex environments in a virtual setting and run millions of scenarios to find the best approach to develop. That way, you save money and make the right investments up front."

— Robert Horton, vice president of Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Two people look at bar graph data presented on large screen.

"Utilities cannot afford to build all the equipment and infrastructure needed to test emerging grid technologies. Using a facility like the ESIF not only makes this research financially feasible, but the collaboration between partners helps all of us learn."

— Leslie Ponder, technology evaluation manager, Duke Energy

People work together in front of computers on a desk inside laboratory with EV in the background.

"It's helpful for Xcel to have such a close partner to help us analyze emerging technologies and understand what types of impacts they cause on our system and how we can better integrate them."

— Beth Chacon, director of Grid Storage and Emerging Technologies, Xcel Energy

Two people in a lab look inside computer system.

"Bringing people into the same room makes for an incredible dynamic. It enables innovation to be faster and de-risks technology."

— Igor Stamenkovic, vice president, Eaton

"NREL's unrivaled capabilities gave us the ability to see how our project really worked before we deployed it in the field. This gave us the confidence we needed to put this project on our system."

— Bryan Hannegan, CEO, Holy Cross Energy

Person points at data presented on computer

"By bringing together Xcel Energy, Schneider Electric, and NREL, we were able to prove out and test the leading-edge challenges that the industry is facing."

—Scott Koehler, vice president of Global Strategy, Schneider Electric

Three people look at computer system inside laboratory.

"National labs provide a collaborative environment where industry partners can work with the utilities to bring up new interoperability standards and advance technologies and research that otherwise wouldn’t be possible without their existence."

—Jason Rohlfing, regional sales manager, Survalent

Two people charge electric vehicle inside laboratory and check under the hood.

"SAE International is pleased to have gathered EV industry partners at NREL for our first test event. These projects are joint ventures that perform targeted, precompetitive research to develop solutions."

—Tim Weisenberger, program manager of Emerging Technologies, SAE International

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