NPL and BAM sign a memorandum on cooperation in cryogenic materials metrology — a proposed CryoMat benchmark platform for hydrogen, space and quantum technologies
The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Germany’s Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) have signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework to explore closer cooperation in cryogenic materials metrology through a proposed CryoMat Benchmark Platform. NPL announced this on 5 October 2026.
- The agreement responds to a growing need for reliable, traceable and mutually comparable measurements of material behaviour at cryogenic temperatures — for hydrogen technologies, spaceflight, quantum technologies and cryogenic engineering. According to NPL, building international comparability between measurement capabilities is meant to ensure that materials data generated by different laboratories can be confidently compared and ultimately used by industry.
- NPL and BAM will explore the potential 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; carry out pilot activities using existing infrastructure; and explore future dissemination, standardisation and regulatory relevance of selected methods and datasets.
- NPL points out that existing ISO and ASTM mechanical testing standards do not always address the challenges of testing at extremely low temperatures. The institute performs cryogenic mechanical testing of alloys and fibre-reinforced polymer composites (CFRP, GFRP) — tensile, flexural and shear testing — down to about 4 K, in general accordance with room-temperature standards such as ISO 527 and ASTM D3039, adapted for cryogenic conditions.
- Materials for liquid hydrogen applications must perform at around 20 K — NPL achieves these conditions with helium cooling and active temperature control. For LNG (natural gas stored and transported at around −165 °C) it uses temperature-controlled environmental chambers, and in fusion-related testing it characterises materials mechanically at 77 K, 40 K, 20 K and 4 K.