National Physical Laboratory (NPL)

NPL was founded in 1900 for "standardising and verifying instruments, for testing materials, and for the determination of physical constants."

NPL is the UK's National Metrology Institute, developing and maintaining the national primary measurement standards. It is a Public Corporation owned by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It has a partnering agreement with BEIS and the University of Strathclyde and the University of Surrey.

NPL is part of the National Measurement System (NMS) which provides the UK with a national measurement infrastructure and delivers the UK Measurement Strategy on behalf of BEIS.

The new facility at NPL will house an estimated 20 laboratories, for around 40 scientists, specially designed for high precision metrology. The facilities will provide a tightly controlled research environment with stable temperature and humidity levels and minimised interference from vibration (direct and acoustic), and electrical and magnetic fields.