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World Metrology Day spotlight: the European Metrology Network for Advanced Manufacturing

A robotic arm inside an advanced manufacturing setting

Working to address the metrology needs for sustainability in manufacturing across Europe

20 May 2024 is World Metrology Day, marking the 149th anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875. This year’s theme “we measure today for a sustainable tomorrow” highlights the myriad ways in which metrology influences sustainability, a key component in the European Green Deal, across industry, health, energy and the environment. This year is also the first time World Metrology Day will be recognised as an official UNESCO international day, opening new avenues to promote, collaborate and educate around metrology.

One of the areas of sustainability highlighted by this year’s World Metrology Day theme is ‘manufacturing and materials efficiency’ which encompasses the need to reduce waste and improve processes across industry. Advanced manufacturing techniques and materials have an important roll to play in sustainability to monitor and limit unnecessary waste (both energy and material) and pollution from manufacturing processes through the use of novel materials, improved measurement methods and better quality control.

The European Metrology Network (EMN) for Advanced Manufacturing has been established to act as a focal point for the coordination of European metrology in the area of advanced manufacturing. The EMN has identified 13 key industry sectors for which metrology input is strongly needed to advance development, including optics and photonics, aerospace, life science technology, digitalised and integrated manufacturing systems, and nano/micro-technology. As part of their work in these areas, the EMN has developed a draft Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). The SRA is structured along 8 cross-cutting topics oriented along and around generalised manufacturing chains, including intelligent product design, advanced materials, smart manufacture and assembly, and quality control and testing.

Sustainability aspects are explicitly dealt with in the cross-cutting topic “Health and safety, environment and sustainability”. This topic addresses the metrology requirements to enable the safe, environmentally friendly, and sustainable manufacturing of products in a fully circular economy. This encompasses metrology to characterise novel sustainable materials, develop safe and resource efficient machining processes to assure the safety, quality and provenance of materials, components and products in support of the European Green Deal.

Members of the EMN are engaged in a wide variety of activities and projects related to the theme of sustainability, for example:

Horizon Europe project RESIN GREEN, addressing bio-compatible resist technologies in the semiconductor industry and
Several joint research projects within the European Partnership on Metrology and the European Metrology Research Programmes, such as NanoWires addressing high throughput metrology issues for nanowire-based energy harvesting devices.
Extend metrology capabilities and calibration services to support further development of renewable energies, as realised for example in the competence centres for wind energy and for photovoltaics of the German National Metrology Institute (PTB).

‘This overview of the structure of the developed SRA of the EMN for Advanced Manufacturing and the given examples of running projects to support sustainability through measurements clearly demonstrates the potential of the EMN to steer the development of metrological research and services to best support European industry to reach the objectives of the EU Green Deal’

says the EMN chairperson, Harald Bosse (PTB).

EMN Advanced Manufacturing is supported by the joint network project 19NET01 AdvManuNet. EMPIR projects are co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.

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