Idaho National Laboratory (INL, formerly Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory) performs applied engineering research in such areas as nuclear technology, national security, and energy. The laboratory campus, which consists of nearly 570,000 acres, also serves as an environmental research park. Established in 1949, INL is funded by the US Department of Energy and operated by the Battelle Energy Alliance, a partnership of Battelle Memorial Institute, BWX Technologies, Washington Group International, MIT, and the not-for-profit Electric Power Research Institute. The Department of Energy combined the laboratory with the Idaho-based nuclear facilities of Argonne National Laboratory in 2005.