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We are developing and improving new and existing measurement infrastructure to provide the essential capability for monitoring the sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the UK. NPL is leading a £5 million programme which will build a more detailed measurement of greenhouse gas emissions, which is crucial for demonstrating progress towards net zero.
TRUTHS, the NPL conceived climate mission, which aims to facilitate improved understanding of changes in the Earth’s climate, becomes a founding element of a future ‘international climate and calibration observatory’ in space alongside NASA’s CLARREO pathfinder mission. This new generation of explicitly designed SI-Traceable Satellites (SITSats) look to help enable a new age in climate quality observations of the Earth.
NPL has successfully piloted an international comparison to underpin climate-critical sea surface temperature measurements which will ensure satellite measurements of the ocean’s temperature are validated through internationally consistent measurements and ensure trust in the satellite observations.
NPL partnered with RINA Tech UK to develop uncertainty calculation tools to assess the risks associated with bi-facial photovoltaics (BFPV) for solar farm sites. This has generated a new methodology for risk forecasting, which has been standardised so that any site can use the same process. The work shows that by using BFPV a medium-sized 50 MWp solar farm could save up to £100,000 per year in costs and facilitate around £0.3-1 billion of new BFPV systems.
NPL used Tip Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) to investigate nanoscale changes in composition during the production of metal composites by TISICS. This allowed them to adapt their process and increase production rate by 20%. This will reduce manufacturing costs, allowing TISICS to provide materials for greener aircraft, spacecraft and vehicles, and help industry move towards net zero.
“Working with NPL ensures we underpin the engineering of our products with the science necessary for flight qualification requirements. Adoption of innovative technologies that exist today will allow global connectivity to continue without increasing harmful emissions and accelerate aviation towards a net zero future.” - Stephen Kyle-Henney - Managing Director, TISICS
NPL has developed an assessment framework to provide quality assurance for the earth observation data generated from commercial satellite missions. Enabling commercial vendors to develop the evidence to build confidence in their data. NPL is working in collaboration with Telespazio UK to develop the framework which is being adopted internationally, and is now being trialled by NASA.
Via this assessment framework, NPL and Telespazio are working to ensure space agencies can take full advantage of the increased range of available data from non-ESA operated missions and perform early data assessments to ensure data products are consistently fit for purpose.
NPL helped QLM quantify laser behaviour to advance its portable system for emissions monitoring at industrial facilities, reducing their time to market by 6-12 months. QLM can now offer an affordable and scalable solution for measuring greenhouse gas emissions, backed by trustworthy data. This will enable them to encourage a wide range of industries to use their new portable equipment to monitor CO2 and support their emission reduction measures.
NPL provided services to 52 NHS trusts and cancer centres in 2022. Over 98% of the jobs delivered for these were related to assuring safe and accurate delivery of radiotherapy through access to NPL's radioactivity standards and expertise in calibration.
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In its penultimate year the ROSETTA Cancer Grand Challenge consortium, led by NPL's Professor Josephine Bunch, continued to build on previous research identifying phenotypic features of tumours and the localised tumour environment for breast, glioblastoma, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. These insights to tumour metabolism have the potential to deliver new targets for the diagnosis, treatment and understanding prognosis in key cancers. Highlights of the teams work over the past 6 years include:
The ROSETTA consortium has shown that they can map metabolic networks of tumours and the tumour microenvironment to correlate with underlying genetic alterations. In summary, Rosetta has provided compelling evidence that metabolic imaging can be used to segment and therapeutically target cancer.
NPL used scanning electron microscopy and rheology to characterise and provide structural information on PearBio’s novel hydrogels which can be used as cell scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The results contributed to an FDA pre-submission towards the accreditation of the PearBio platform and clinical workflow.
“Overall, the projected carried out with NPL helped the advancement of our technology towards our goal and commitment of stopping the spread of cancer." - Gaston Primo- Scientist at PearBio
Read our characterising hydrogels case study
An innovative ultrasonic detection technique, which will aid earlier diagnosis and treatment of cancer and help manufacturers develop better products, has been demonstrated with the first in-person measurements of breast tissue. In comparison to X-ray mammography, this new technology is less invasive, more comfortable and completely safe as it eliminates risks associated with exposure to ionising radiation.
Gustavo Trindade, Senior Research Scientist was awarded the Vickerman Prize by the UK Surface Analysis Forum for his work in the National Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry Imaging and OrbiSIMS metrology which is anticipated to have a major impact in the field of surface analysis.
NPL has developed a new NanoSIMS imaging technique to reduce attrition in drug development. This enables drug developers to pinpoint which drugs permeate the blood-brain barrier more efficiently. This will help to speed up the development of more feasible drugs and enable resources to be directed to the most promising candidates, reducing costs and speeding up the process.
NPL will lead the state-of-the-art UK Telecoms Lab (UKTL) on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). UKTL will provide independent test and evaluation capability and enhance confidence in the resilience and security of telecommunication systems that will be deployed in the UK. Recruitment is already underway providing 20 skilled local jobs in Solihull and the surrounding areas.
Marco Schioppo, Senior Research Scientist received the Executive Committee of the European Frequency and Time Forum (EFTF) Young Scientist Award, for his contributions to ultrastable lasers and measurement precision in optical frequency metrology, which have impacted the characterisation of optical atomic clocks.
Leon Lobo, Head of the National Timing Centre, and Ali Ashkhasi, Senior Research Scientist, spoke on the Telehouse: Making Connections podcast. They discussed the role of time-as-a-service, how businesses can leverage this and how organisations are synchronising and accurately timestamping events.
NTC released The Introduction to Time and Frequency Metrology training course to address the skills gap within the industry and assist new career entrants develop time and frequency knowledge. The course attracted more than 400 enrolments improving skills and expertise for UK industry.
Improving the communications infrastructure and enabling high-speed 5G connectivity at sea is vital for the collection and transmission of data required by the marine industry. NPL is collaborating with JET Connectivity to develop high-speed 5G connectivity at sea to improve the communications infrastructure particularly in areas that currently have no GNSS coverage. This will help develop reliable connectivity for offshore teams and enable real-time information.
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