Energy and Environmental Research Center


The Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States is a research, development, demonstration, and commercialization facility for energy and environment technologies development. The center is a nonprofit division of the University of North Dakota.
The center was founded in 1951 as the Robertson Lignite Research Laboratory, a federal facility under the United States Bureau of Mines, named after Charles R. Robertson. It became a federal energy technology center under the United States Department of Energy in 1977 and was defederalized in 1983. The center employs approximately 210 employees.
The EERC conducts research, development, demonstration, and commercialization activities involving zero-emissions coal conversion; CO2 capture and sequestration; energy and water sustainability; hydrogen and fuel cells; advanced air emission control technologies, emphasizing SOx, NOx, air toxics, fine particulate, CO2, and mercury control; renewable energy; wind energy; water management; flood prevention; global climate change; waste utilization; energy efficiency; and contaminant cleanup.
The EERC is located on more than of land on the southeast corner of the UND campus in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and houses of laboratories, fabrication facilities, technology demonstration facilities, and offices. The EERC has a current contract portfolio of over $208.4 million and the EERC's estimated regional economic impact is $78.1 million. Since 1987, the EERC has had more than 1,315 clients in 50 states and 52 countries.

Centers of excellence

The EERC's eleven centers of excellence include the following:
The National Center for Hydrogen Technology does research in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. In 2006, hydrogen-related contracts at the NCHT totaled more than $20 million. Groundbreaking on the NCHT building on the EERC campus took place on April 17, 2006.