Infrastructure that makes discovery possible
Fermilab’s scientific discoveries depend on the infrastructure and expertise that support them. Infrastructure Services, known as ISD, provides the facilities, utilities and infrastructure that enable the laboratory to operate safely, reliably and efficiently while stewarding the natural environment around it.
Every day, teams operate essential utilities, maintain critical facilities, move massive experimental equipment, upgrade infrastructure and respond to unexpected challenges. Their work keeps the lab running and enables scientists and experiments to advance high-energy physics.
The team also manages more than 6,800 acres of Fermilab land, including restored prairies, grasslands and woodlands that support a thriving ecosystem. They maintain habitats for rare plants and birds and care for Fermilab’s bison herd.
From critical infrastructure to the natural environment, ISD supports the people and places that make Fermilab’s science possible.
Infrastructure Services builds the foundation for scientific discovery while caring for the environment where science happens.
Fermilab infrastructure by the numbers
Fermilab operates like a high-tech small city, with an electrical grid, state-of-the-art offices and laboratory space, an extensive road network and water systems that support daily operations and experimental cooling.
ISD’s work extends beyond facilities and utilities. Its services also keep Fermilab’s operations moving, from managing inbound and outbound shipments to processing freight charges and tariffs and coordinating household moves for employees.
These systems and services provide the foundation for Fermilab’s scientific mission. Here’s how the infrastructure breaks down:
Real property
Buildings and facilities
- 366 buildings totaling 2.4 million square feet
- $1.9 billion total replacement plant value
- 112 acres of paved parking lots
Land and the environment
- 6,800 acres of managed natural landscape
- 15 ponds supporting the environment
Roads and site infrastructure
- 36 miles of roads
- 112 acres of available parking
- 300 acres of surface water
Utilities and energy
- 27 miles of industrial cooling water pipe and fire protection
- 20 miles of natural gas pipe
- 20 miles of domestic drinking water pipe
- 16 miles of sanitary wastewater pipe
- 101 miles of electric cable energized through
- 2 primary electric substations, and
- 241 secondary electric substations
Personal property
Assets (worth approximately $242.5 million)
- 1,547 high-risk assets
- 16,000 sensitive assets
- 3,000 equipment assets
- $46,000 in precious metals
Fleet
- 201 fleet vehicles
- 5 years average fleet age
- 92% utilization
Stockroom
- $3.2 million purchase order receipts
- $3.08 million in materials
- 31,000 issue transactions
- 5,900 purchase order receipt transactions
Railhead yard
- 166,000 pounds of scrap released (FY26 YTD)
- Metals moratorium activities
- Outdoor storage of shielding blocks