27 May 2025
NLR has officially launched the Quick Response Drone Facility (QRDF). A new facility to conduct research quickly and effectively on uncrewed systems for defence. "Drones are playing an increasingly important role in aviation, for defence and also for civil applications," says Bert Thuis, Vice President Aerospace Vehicles at NLR.
14 March 2025
NLR is taking a further step towards more sustainable flight by partnering with Cryoworld to develop a liquid hydrogen tank. This follows the agreement with zepp.solutions for a fuel cell system. The new collaboration contributes to NLR's ambition to conduct a demonstration flight on liquid hydrogen in 2026.
04 March 2025
The NLR Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel (NLR-AWT) is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to researching the sources of aero-acoustic noise and developing techniques to reduce aircraft noise. Our research focuses on the early development phase (low Technology Readiness Level) or aims to improve existing systems. Additionally, we develop advanced measurement methods to identify and quantify noise sources. To gain a deeper understanding of complex airflows, we employ various flow measurement techniques, including Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) with helium-filled soap bubbles and hotwire measurements, which enable us to map airflow patterns both qualitatively and quantitatively.
27 February 2025
Building on our expertise in thermal analysis and testing, NLR offers a wide range of services and facilities for thermal analysis and testing, including qualified R&D and test engineers, thermal vacuum chambers, thermal laboratories, and specialised test facilities such as the THETA hydrogen test facility and the Two-Phase Test Facility. Our facilities are part of our environmental test facilities, allowing us to provide a complete one-stop test campaign. We collaborate with leading companies such as NanoSpace/REALTECHNOLOGIE AG and have access to a broad range of software tools, including ESATAN, ThermXL, Abacus FEA, Matlab, Mathcad, and Labview. Our customers include major players such as AMS02 (CERN), NASA, ESA, Stork Fokker Elmo, ASML, Thales, Bradford Engineering, and Dutch Space. One of our notable successes is the development of the Tracker Thermal Control Cooling system for AMS02, a two-phase cooling system that has been operating successfully on the International Space Station (ISS) since May 2011.
27 February 2025
NLR offers 'beyond state-of-the-art' computational physics solutions to complex aerospace problems. With a multidisciplinary approach, we combine our computational expertise with experimental disciplines across the entire lifecycle of an aerospace vehicle (aircraft, rotorcraft, rocket, drone/UAS/UAV, etc.).
25 February 2025
NLR offers independent research, development and consultancy to Unmanned Rotocraft Systems (URS) stakeholders. We can support you with our ample experience in the flight testing, airworthiness, qualification and certification of both manned and unmanned aircraft. We also have expertise in UAS Regulations, and are involvement in the development of standards (EUROCAE WG-105, ASTM F-38).
25 February 2025
NLR has a long track record in aircraft multidisciplinary design and optimisation, compiled from collaborations with international industrial and research partners. Our expertise includes conceptual design and sizing methodologies for conventional and hybrid-electric propelled aircraft, as well as corresponding efficient and integrated tooling, such as MUCH - a multidisciplinary conceptual design platform for hybrid electric aircraft. Additionally, we possess advanced aircraft propulsion and mission modelling capabilities, enabling us to provide comprehensive expertise for the development of innovative aircraft concepts.
25 February 2025
NLR has a long term expertise in aircraft performance modelling and simulation, following a multidisciplinary approach that combines knowledge from various fields to provide comprehensive insights. Through active collaboration with European research and industrial partners in relevant research projects, we have developed and continuously improved our methods for energy performance analysis of novel aircraft. Our expertise includes efficient tooling for mission performance and scenario analysis of aircraft with hybrid electric propulsion (MASS), with models of various complexity levels, depending on the needs.
