The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) is an international intergovernmental organization (IGO) with the mission to perform cutting-edge research and development in interdisciplinary nanotechnology.

INL was created under an international legal framework similar to other International Research Organizations to become a global centre of excellence in applied nanotechnology research.

INL was established in 2005 by a joint decision of the Governments of Portugal and Spain and had been operating since late 2010, following a total investment of 100 M€. INL is currently financed by member states’ contributions (40%), competitive funds (40%) and Industry collaboration and user fees (20%).

The INL infrastructure provides a high-tech research environment for INL staff and users. The campus includes 7,500 m2 of individual and central laboratories, high-accuracy laboratories, a cleanroom, an auditorium and other public areas. It provides open access to its facilities and technologies/processes for external users from academia and industry. At the end of 2022, 430 people of over 33 nationalities worked at INL, 370 of them researchers.

INL’s research and development program is organized into six clusters, covering Clean Energy, Food, Health Technologies, Smart Digital NanoSystems, Sustainable Environment, and Advanced Materials and Computing.

INL has three main contributions to the SITA project. Using the Micro and Nanofabrication Facility with versatile equipment for deposition, etching, and lithography, INL develops passivation layers for the CIGS top cell. Secondly, using the Advanced Electron Microscopy Facility, INL performs nanoscale chemical and structural investigations of materials and interfaces by applying transition electron microscopy methods. Thirdly, INL is responsible for the project-related communication activities.