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
Projects with DOE
Projects with partners
Publications
Million in awards
Staff Honors: Our Team Is Excelling
Meet the team in the Manufacturing Masterminds staff profile series.
Congratulations on Recent Achievements
Tim Silverman
A researcher who received NREL’s Distinguished Member of Research Staff award designation, which recognizes research staff for overall expertise and
highly impactful contributions to the mission of the laboratory
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 and received NREL’s Distinguished
Member of Research Staff award for his technical contributions and leadership in advanced packaging, thermal management, and reliability for power electronics and electric machines for electric-drive vehicles and numerous energy efficiency and
renewable energy applications
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.
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Last Updated Jan. 8, 2025