The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has established the Composites Manufacturing Education and Technology (CoMET) facility to support the development of advanced composite materials. The 10,000 sq. ft. facility is a result of a funding partnership between the US Department of Energy, IACMI, the State of Colorado, and NREL. CoMET enables researchers to design, prototype, and test composite structures, addressing scaling issues from small to large structures such as wind turbine blades. The facility also serves as an education center, hosting students and stakeholders to demonstrate new composite technologies. The equipment at CoMET ranges from small to large, allowing for research at scale. The facility collaborates with private and public organizations to work on challenging problems in composite materials and manufacturing. Recent projects include building a 13-meter wind turbine blade, which was validated in NREL’s structural test facility. CoMET aims to make wind energy and water power more cost-competitive and contribute to better recyclability of blades. The facility also has the potential to impact other applications, such as vehicles, buildings, and aerospace, and will continue to advance composites manufacturing and materials research.
