INL Research Areas

A detailed interior view of a metallic reactor or experimental instrument shows circular components, wiring channels, and machined surfaces lit with bright purple illumination.

Nuclear Energy

INL leads the nation’s advanced nuclear energy research, with scientists and engineers improving reactor efficiency and aiding space exploration. INL’s cutting-edge work is making nuclear a more affordable and versatile component of the nation’s energy future.

A laboratory worker wearing gloves, safety glasses, and a lab coat uses a pipette to transfer liquid into a flask. Various pipettes, containers, and instruments sit on the bench around her.

Integrated Energy

Every day, INL’s talented scientists and engineers discover new technologies that improve energy efficiencies, develop stronger materials, and lead us to a more secure tomorrow.

Four people stand at an outdoor power substation, inspecting an open electrical control panel beneath large insulators and high-voltage equipment. Overhead wires and structural supports surround the area.

National Security

When a problem has national security significance and time is critical, people turn to places like Idaho National Laboratory. To solve some of our world’s biggest challenges, scientists must spend years collecting data, analyzing the results and testing new solutions.