Strengthening collaboration in cryogenic materials metrology

3 minute read

The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework to explore closer cooperation in cryogenic materials metrology through a proposed CryoMat Benchmark Platform. 

The agreement responds to a growing need for reliable, traceable and mutually comparable measurements of material behaviour at cryogenic temperatures, supporting emerging and strategically important applications including hydrogen technologies, spaceflight, quantum technologies and cryogenic engineering. 

Through the MoU, NPL and BAM will explore the potential for a joint CryoMat Benchmark Platform, including opportunities to: 

• Establish reference approaches for cryogenic materials testing and characterisation 
• Improve the comparability, reproducibility and traceability of measurement data 
• Compare and further develop test methods, protocols and approaches to data evaluation 
• Investigate pilot activities making use of existing capabilities and infrastructure 
• Explore the future dissemination, standardisation and regulatory relevance of selected methods and datasets 

Reliable materials data at cryogenic temperatures is increasingly important as technologies move into more demanding operating environments. Building international comparability between measurement capabilities is therefore an important step towards ensuring that materials data generated by different laboratories can be confidently compared and ultimately used by industry. 

Find out more about our work in this area here