  The High-Throughput Experimental Materials Database (HTEM-DB) is the endpoint
repository for inorganic thin-film materials data collected during
combinatorial experiments at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
This unique data asset is enabled by the Research Data Infrastructure (RDI) - a
set of custom data tools that collect, process, and store experimental data and
metadata. Here, we describe the experimental data-tool workflow from the RDI to
the HTEM-DB to illustrate the strategies and best practices currently used for
materials data at NREL. Integration of these data tools with the experimental
processes establishes a data communication pipeline between experimental and
data science communities. In doing so, this work motivates the creation of
similar data workflows at other institutions to aggregate valuable data and
increase its usefulness for future data studies. These types of investments can
greatly accelerate the pace of learning and discovery in the materials science
field, by making data accessible to new and rapidly evolving data methods.
