Electrabel's research and development projects focus on two key areas. Firstly, Electrabel offers its customers new products and services that enrich sales of energy. They concern in particular rational use of energy and quality of supply. Secondly, within Electrabel, research into technical and environmental efficiency contributes significantly to competitiveness in a liberalised market. They mainly include the management of power stations in terms of effectiveness, availability and safety. The environmental dimension is present in all the different fields of research.

In the field of electricity, most of the research is carried out by Laborelec, the technical and scientific expertise centre of Electrabel. Many projects are also carried out in collaboration with Tractebel Engineering, the universities and other research centres. In the natural gas domain, Electrabel uses the ARGB laboratory (Association Royale des Gaziers Belges / Royal association of gas professionals).