INL is part of the U.S. Department of Energys complex of national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in each of the strategic goal areas of DOE: energy, national security, science, and environment. INL is the nations leading center for nuclear energy research and development.

INL is the site where 52 pioneering nuclear reactors were designed and constructed, including the first reactor to generate usable amounts of electricity. It was here that nuclear-generated electricity first powered an American community.

It was here that the Navys nuclear propulsion systems were first demonstrated, and here that sailors and officers were trained on how to operate those systems. Throughout our laboratorys history, scores of this countrys best and brightest have come to advance the promise of nuclear energy.