Facilities & Capabilities
For the past 19 years, NDTL has been executing research in its on-campus White Field Facility, which includes three test cells and one outdoor test stand supporting propulsion and energy generation R&D projects. This is primarily graduate student-led research supported by university faculty investigators and the NDTL staff.
In 2016, NDTL commissioned its $50M off-campus Ignition Park facility located near downtown South Bend in response to the needs of NDTL’s R&D partners and to expand its academic offering. The facility continues to expand and currently has six indoor test cells and two outdoor test stands. The Ignition Park test cells/stands are supported by a conditioned air plant, a vacuum air plant, a glycol cooling loop, a dedicated electrical substation for its VFD-controlled motor/generators, an aviation fuel handling and storage facility, and a high-pressure carbon dioxide storage facility. The R&D testing executed at Ignition Park is at power levels of an order of magnitude or more than that of the on-campus test cells and is led by the NDTL professional staff with support from faculty investigators, graduate, and undergraduate students.
