Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, a joint venture between Battelle and Midwest Research Institute (MRI), was selected in 2008 to manage and operate the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. NREL is the nation’s primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. The Alliance is governed by a 15-member board of directors composed of five executives each from MRI and Battelle, as well as senior-level officials from the five key collaborating universities (Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Colorado-Boulder, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University).