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Measurement for our planet

How measurement is a catalyst for industrial change and net zero production

Advanced manufacturing and materials for net zero

NPL helps to deliver verification and validation of sustainable, high-performance materials, and energy efficient manufacturing of innovative green technologies.

How can advanced manufacturing and materials support net zero?

Climate change can no longer be ignored. It therefore does not come as a surprise that governments have committed to achieving net zero emissions, which requires taking the necessary steps to reduce emissions in the first instance, and then offset those that remain.

Enabling technologies such as advanced manufacturing and processing are key to achieving our net zero targets. These include autonomous, intelligent, interconnected and quality-oriented manufacturing systems that utilise advanced materials of exceptional properties to create new components and products.

For example, hydrogen is an energy carrier that has zero emissions at the point of consumption and can therefore play an instrumental role for achieving net zero. Large scale hydrogen production, through water electrolysis while utilising electricity produced from renewable sources such as offshore wind, would enable decarbonising areas like heating and the chemical industry. To succeed, materials and processes for the next generation of electrolysers (electrodes, electrolytes, and catalysts), in addition to innovative storage solutions, are of paramount importance.

Delivering the shift to new forms of mobility, like low carbon hydrogen transportation, requires both the manufacturing technologies and the underpinning materials to realise innovations in electric conversion and propulsion, as well as safe and efficient on-board hydrogen fuel storage.

How is NPL’s measurement expertise for advanced manufacturing and materials helping to reach net zero?

We deliver the measurement innovations that support government and industry through sustainable engineering and manufacturing that minimise negative impacts to the environment, while conserving energy alongside natural and scarce resources.

We perform research and development of pre-normative standards that embed digital innovation to optimise measurement techniques, test methods, modelling and validation, aiming to reduce the time-to-market of standardisation to less than 5 years for disruptive innovation. We do that through materials metrology and verification and validation for the hydrogen economy, electrification, renewables, and carbon capture and storage technologies, supporting industrial decarbonisation. Most of our work across these areas is carried out in close collaboration with academic, commercial, and public sector bodies.

Our experts represent the UK in key intranational standardisation bodies and committees, driving the next generation of measurement standards to enable uptake of disruptive manufacturing innovations and new materials across the industrial landscape.

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Measurement for our planet: Leaders’ briefing

If you’re a minister, policy maker or industry leader and would like to find out how measurement can support you in ensuring the accuracy of the information used for decision making in support of climate action, then we can help.

Metrology expertise that provides confidence in climate data

Climate measurement including earth observation

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Identifying and quantifying greenhouse gas emissions at local and national scales

Greenhouse gas emissions measurement

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Supporting the transition to decarbonised energy sources

Energy vector and infrastructure

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Understanding emissions from agriculture and observation of land systems

Agriculture, forestry and other land use

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Measurement to test, validate and enable zero emission transport solutions

Decarbonisation of transport

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Measurement for our planet

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