Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
Sign In

Materials and Fuels Complex

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​MFC Facility
​​​​​​MFC's Mission: Engineering and Experiments that Drive​ the World's Nuclear Energy Future

The Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) hosts the core of U.S. nuclear energy research and development capability with an array of facilities designed for remote work on highly irradiated fuels and materials. A new fuel idea can be designed and fabricated, then tested and analyzed at MFC to better understand the effects of irradiation. Many groups, such as universities, industry partners, other national laboratories, international research organizations and other federal agencies are currently working at MFC. ​

MFC houses 29 mission facilities. Below are just a few:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​NUCLEAR PIONEERS: In 1951, the first nuclear reactor in Idaho was ​​​built, starting a legacy at what is now Idaho National Laboratory. Another 51 reactors followed and one reactor, the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), was built at the current Materials and Fuels Complex. Between 1961 and 1994, EBR-II demonstrated inherently safe shutdowns, a new standard for nuclear reactors. Today, INL is the nation’s le​ad nuclear lab, leading the charge to keep our current commercial reactors performing and to create an ever safer, less expensive  and more reliable next generation of nuclear power plants.