The heart of the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) research site in Albany, Oregon, is its cutting-edge metallurgy and materials research capabilities. Situated on 42 acres, NETL’s Albany complex has specialized facilities for materials fabrication and performance testing of advanced high-temperature, corrosion-resistant structural ceramic composites and metal alloys.

NETL-Albany traces its origins to 1943 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that the U.S. Bureau of Mines had selected Albany as the site for the new Northwest Electro-Development Laboratory. Today NETL-Albany is internationally recognized for its leadership in designing, developing and deploying advanced materials for use in energy applications and extreme service environments.

NETL-Albany has expanded its geoscience and geomaterials science capabilities to better understand and characterize engineered/natural systems related to fossil energy such as conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons both onshore and offshore, natural gas hydrates and geothermal systems. This includes the multifunctional High-Pressure Immersion and Reactive Transport Laboratory capable of performing geological studies at simulated depths up to 10,000 feet, providing an experimental basis for modeling various subsurface phenomena and processes.

That’s only a small part of the NETL-Albany story. Check out this video to learn more.

Watch for upcoming “Get to Know NETL” videos as we highlight important work taking place at our facilities in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.