EURAMET Season's Greetings | December 2022

Welcome to the last EURAMET newsletter of 2022! As the year draws to a close, we would like to share with you some of the many metrology highlights that we at EURAMET have been privileged to be involved with.

 

The year started with important developments including the official launch of the European Partnership on Metrology and welcoming two new Vice-Chairpersons: Miruna Dobre (SMD) and Maguelonne Chambon (LNE). We would like to take this opportunity to wish both every success in the future and extend our sincere thanks to their predecessors Maria Luisa Rastello and Erkki Ikonen!

In addition, the EURAMET community took another step towards completing the landscape of European Metrology Networks (EMNs): The General Assembly approved the EMNs for Safe and Sustainable Food and for Pollution Monitoring. Together with the existing EMNs these will act as a single point of contact for metrology in their fields – helping to identify and address measurement needs in a coordinated manner. 

A good demonstration of this was the launch of the EMN Energy Gases new service platform which details in one place the available measurement services for over a dozen European countries .

Over 1000 people also attended the online workshop 'Metrology for Climate Action' in September. Organised by BIPM and WMO, EURAMET & EMN Climate and Ocean Observation were partners of this event that brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss measurement needs in this important area.

In November, the EMN for Quantum Technologies held a successful workshop on the future trends and needs of quantum science and technology in Europe.

For more information on these and further examples of the collaboration in Europe's metrology community, please read through this newsletter below.

 

We want to thank all of our members, friends, partners, and stakeholders for their great cooperation and achievements in 2022. We look forward to joint initiatives across Europe and beyond in 2023.

For now we would like to wish you and your families a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year!

 

Your EURAMET Community

 



2022 Highlights

Miruna Dobre is EURAMET's new Vice-Chairperson (GA)

Miruna Dobre, from  FPS Economy, DG Quality and Safety, Metrology Division (SMD) was elected as EURAMET’s new Vice-Chairperson (GA) this year. With a strong background in thermometry and environment Miruna will focus on implementing EURAMET’s 2030 strategy along with strengthening metrology in Europe through capacity building activities. EURAMET would like to wish her well in the new role!

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Maguelonne Chambon started her term as the new Vice-Chairperson (Research)

This year Maguelonne Chambon (LNE, France) started her term as the new Vice-Chairperson (Research). As a part of the EURAMET community for over a decade she shared what she envisions accomplishing in her new role. Maguelonne also gives her views on the Metrology Partnership - what makes it special and its most important elements.
EURAMET would like to take the opportunity to thank Maguelonne for all of her past – and future – work in improving metrology in Europe!

 

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The European Partnership on Metrology officially launched in March 2022

One of the 2022 highlights was the launch of the European Partnership on Metrology earlier in the year. The Metrology Partnership aims to support the transition towards a green, climate neutral and digital Europe, as well as to strengthen the resilience, competitiveness, and economic growth of European industry. The European Partnerships represent a key implementation tool of the European Commission’s Horizon Europe; an ambitious research and innovation programme, running from 2021 to 2027.

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EURAMET consults stakeholders from the semiconductor sector

One trillion microchips were manufactured in 2020, indicating the size of this industry – however EU countries only had 10% share of the global market for semi-conductors. In response the EU has initiated the European Chips Act, to help bolster Europe’s competitiveness in this area. As metrology is essential to any industrial process, EURAMET and the EMN Advanced Manufacturing held a successful open consultation in July with stakeholders from this sector. Topics covered advanced 2D materials, future CMOS and ‘More-than-Moore’ technologies and further needs towards future research to help the European semiconductor industry in this fast-evolving area.

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EURAMET partnered with BIPM and WMO for Metrology for Climate Action Workshop

Metrology has an essential role to play in defining the factors that drive climate change. Accurate measurements help support physical evidence, establish trends and provide information for the implementation of successful mitigation measures. In September EURAMET & the EMN for Climate and Ocean Observation partnered with the BIPM and the WMO in hosting a workshop on climate-related measurement topics, covering present progress to the advanced measurements that will be required in the future.

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Energy Gases EMN launches new services platform

To move away from the use of fossil fuels that drive climate change new forms of energy need to be explored. Energy gases - such as hydrogen or biomethane – require accurate measurements to both ensure fairness in the custody chain and protect existing gas networks from unwanted contaminants. In support of this the EMN for Energy Gases has launched a new service platform  bringing together metrology-backed measurements in this field - including training, certified reference materials and calibrations. This ‘one stop shop’ is ideal for any company or organisation involved in energy production, distribution or use.

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Revised Guidelines on the Uncertainty of Force Measurements published

Published by EURAMET’s Technical Committee for Mass and Related Quantities the new revision covers such things as uncertainty measurements for industrial force-generating equipment, force-measuring instruments and covers the re-categorisation of force machines based on their traceability path to the SI unit of force. It also includes full worked examples for ISO 376 and ISO 7500-1 calibrations and will prove valuable for all industries that use tensile or compressive force measurements.

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Metrology in the Digital Era - focus of the 2022 World Metrology Day

The focus of this year’s World Metrology Day on the 20th May was Metrology in the Digital Era. EURAMET is already providing support in areas such as synchronisation in distributed sensor networks, trustworthy digital twins, and machine learning. Through the work of its members, in the Technical Committees, the European Metrology Networks and joint research projects, EURAMET can bring a unique perspective to this field, identifying problems and presenting solutions from a range of angles and expertise, helping Europe continue its ‘Digital Decade’.

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Selected examples from joint research projects

Comprehensive guide to detecting mercury in the environment publicly available

Even small quantities of the element mercury can cause serious health problems. Mercury’s oxidised forms are particularly harmful and can be carried in the atmosphere, settling in areas often remote from its source. It can also enter the aquatic environment where it can accumulate in marine life which can then be eaten and accumulate in people.
The EMPIR project MercOx has performed one of the largest investigations into this pollutant to date – providing crucial support to global and European regulations governing mercury pollution.

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EMPIR helps facilitate the inductive charging of electric vehicles

The European Commission has effectively banned the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035.  Inductive charging – where strong magnetic fields charge batteries without the need of cables – offers the potential for use in electric vehicles. Batteries can even be charged whilst the vehicle is in motion, greatly extending range. The MetroHyVe project performed some of the first measurements in the world addressing the safety aspects of the high strength magnetic fields’ that this technology utilises and developed new instrumentation and software in this area.

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EMPIR project supplies time and frequency dissemination for aerospace industry

Accurate timekeeping and synchronisation are of vital importance across numerous industries and applications, from new 5G networks, finance to global positioning. Mismatches in time between machines can cause errors in accuracy and performance or, in critical applications, total system failure. The EMPIR project WRITE has looked at the metrological problems of taking systems that are prone to hacking or spoofing – such as the radio and satellite– and converting these to more secure optical fibre links using CERN’s White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol (PTP-WR). Testbeds developed in the project are now being explored by aerospace industry to help strengthen the dissemination of time and frequency in crucial areas.

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EMPIR project research features in BIPM press release about SARS and COVID-19

A molecular diagnostic technique, RT-dPCR, which can covert SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) viral RNA to DNA for detection has been the subject of a recent comparison study (CCQM-P199.b). The results have been hailed by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures as “ … the most comprehensive example of highly reproducible and sensitive measurement of RNA and opens the possibility for SI-traceable quantification of viral genes.”.
The technique was developed and metrologically ratified in the EMPIR project SEPTIMUS, and not only arms clinicians with more accurate diagnosis for SARS-CoV-2 and other viral pathogens, but paves the way for wider used of this technique in areas such as testing for antibiotic resistance in bacteria or for cancerous cells.

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A new European centre in the fight against glaucoma

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness. In its early stages the disease has no symptoms and can only be detected by an increase in intra-ocular pressure (IOP) inside the eye.
However, until the start of the EMPIR project InTense in 2017 only two National Metrology Institutes (NMI) in Europe had state-of-the-art measurement capabilities in IOP metrology.

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Improving Europe’s response to nuclear incidents

In 2011 a tsunami disrupted the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, contaminating 3000 km2 with radioactive material. The tsunami also disrupted static radiation detectors at the plant – limiting knowledge of the radiation present and hindering response workers. The EMPIR project Preparedness has developed a mobile detector that can be used when such situations arise in the future – helping to minimise the societal, economic, and environmental damage caused by a radiological incident.

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Disclaimer
Project information and links published in the current issue of the EURAMET newsletter are correct to the best of EURAMET's knowledge and in accordance with the current state of the art. EURAMET cannot be held responsible for the sufficiency or fitness for purpose of any information. The technologies presented in this newsletter may be covered by intellectual property rights.