National Energy Technology Laboratory

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is the lead research and development office for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy. One of 17 national laboratories in the Energy Department's complex, NETL serves a unique role compared to its counterparts: it functions as both an onsite science and technology research center and as the administrator of nearly 1,800 contracts with external organizations.    

NETL has sites in Albany, Oregon; Anchorage, Alaska; Morgantown, West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Houston, Texas. In total, these sites include 81 buildings and 14 major research facilities on nearly 200 acres. More than 1,100 employees work at NETL's five sites; roughly half are Federal employees and half are site support contractors.

More than 1,100 employees work at NETL's five sites; roughly half are Federal employees and half are site support contractors. NETL also performs work for other Department of Energy organizations, including the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Federal Employees Scientists Engineers Technical Professional Administration Other

23% 36% 9% 10% 19% 3%

Site Contractors Scientists Engineers Technical Professional Administration Other

9% 23% 22% 14% 15% 17%

The Morgantown office was established in 1954, when three Department of Interior organizations were consolidated at the site: a petroleum and natural gas recovery research group, a Federal coal mine health and safety inspections group, and a coal gasification research group. It was originally called the Appalachian Experiment Station.

The Pittsburgh office origins date back to 1910, when Congress created the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of 1944 authorized the Bureau of Mines to build energy research laboratories; one of these was named the Bruceton Research Center. 

When the two facilities were transferred in 1976 to the Energy Research and Development Administration, the predecessor agency to the Department of Energy, they were renamed, first as Energy Research Centers, then as their role expanded to larger-scale engineering projects, to Energy Technology Centers. In 1996, the two facilities were combined to form the Federal Energy Technology Center. In December 1999, the Center was elevated to national laboratory status and renamed the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The Houston office originally was located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where the government first established a petroleum research laboratory in 1917.  In 1998, the site was closed as a federally-owned laboratory, the land was converted to commercial use, and the government's office was then moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma initially as an independent field office.  In November 2000, the office became part of the National Energy Technology Laboratory and is now part of the Laboratory's Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil. In 2008, the office moved from Tulsa, OK to Houston, Texas.

In 2001, NETL opened the Arctic Energy Office in Fairbanks, Alaska, with a two-part mission to promote research, development, and deployment of: 1) oil recovery, gas-to-liquids, and natural gas production and transportation and, 2) electric power in arctic climates, including fossil, wind, geothermal, fuel cells, and small hydroelectric facilities.
 
Several years later, in 2005, the Albany Research Center (ARC) in Albany, Oregon, was realigned by DOE and incorporated under NETL management. Specializing in life cycle research, ARC investigates new materials to solve the energy system challenges of today and tomorrow.

The laboratory contributes more than $100 million annually to local economies through payroll, small purchases, onsite support contractors, contracts and conferences. Agreements with local colleges and universities are valued at more than $35 million.

Addresses for NETL Offices

3610 Collins Ferry Road P.O. Box 880 Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 304-285-4764		626 Cochran Mill Road P.O. Box 10940 Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940 412-386-4687		13131 Dairy Ashford Road, Suite 225 Sugar Land, TX 77478 281-494-2516
1450 Queen Avenue SW Albany, OR 97321-2198 541-967-5892		420 L Street Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99501 907-271-3618
Main Web Site:  www.netl.doe.gov Customer Service: 1-800-553-7681