DeutschResearch Lab
In the lab you research improvements for energy, mines, blast furnaces, storage and city services. A major project over several days.
The research lab is your colony's first major project. Construction takes 3 days, and you need at least 8,000 residents. After that a whole network of research opens up.
What you research
Research is organised in branches: energy, extraction, industry, logistics, city and synthesis. Some projects improve something level by level, such as the output of fusion power plants or the room in your storage. Others unlock new upgrade levels, for example level 2 of the fusion power plants or plasma steel in the blast furnace.
- One research project runs at a time, two with premium.
- Many projects need a certain level of the lab.
- At level 3 the lab can produce plasma cores itself. That takes 7 days and draws 60 MW of power meanwhile.
Three levels
Every level makes the lab bigger and unlocks new research. Level 2 needs 15,000 residents and an artifact, level 3 needs 25,000 residents, two artifacts and a plasma core.
Read more: The Research Network and Overdrive Protocols.
Upgrade levels
| Level | Costs | Upgrade time | What the level adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  5,000,000 $  3,000 t Metal  600 t Kryptonite  300 t Spice | 3 days | |
| 2 | 15,000,000 $  2,000 t Chrome Steel  1,500 t Krypto Steel 1,000 t Spice  1 Artifact | 4 days | from 15,000 residents |
| 3 | 40,000,000 $  1,500 t Cobalt Alloy  600 t Plasma Steel 3,000 t Spice 2 Artifact  1 Plasma Core | 5 days | from 25,000 residents |
Operation pauses during the upgrade. Costs apply to the upgrade to that level.