NGI director for offshore energy Thomas Langford said the laboratory in Perth would be a unique platform designed to develop knowledge and solutions to and across NGI's networks.

He said the decision to build the lab in Perth was driven by the rapid global developments in the offshore renewables and mining marketplaces, and associated demand for high quality geotechnical laboratories.

"We can better focus on material behaviour within our research and development portfolio and further develop geotechnical testing within our global network across Norway, the US and the Asia-Pacific region," Langford said.

"The laboratory will be in an important component in terms of increasing our technical footprint, accelerating the development of knowledge and solutions related to material behaviour and modelling."

The laboratory is expected to be operational in early 2023.

It will be modelled on NGI's large scale geotechnical laboratories in Oslo and Houston.

NGI Perth managing director Noel Boylan said establishment of the laboratory was an important step in the development of the Perth office.

"Bringing us closer to NGI's heritage of experimental testing and broadening both the project and research and development opportunities for NGI," he said.

NGI managing director Lars Andresen said the laboratory would put the company in a unique position by providing global coverage and increased flexibility within its testing capabilities.

"Throughout NGI's 70-year history, measuring and understanding material behaviour through laboratory testing has been of central importance," he said.

"We have continually developed knowledge, equipment and procedures together with industry to improve practice, and this remains core to our philosophy today."