Competitive and sustainable growth

7.2 Economic Growth

It is acknowledged that around 60% of industries use thermal processing at some stage. Temperature measurements are vital in nearly all industry types, from heavy, large volume industries, such as steel production, to high value and leading edge industries such as aerospace and semiconductor processing. In addition, thermophysical properties measurements have significant impact on the building and construction, automotive, and oil and gas industries - to name but a few. Furthermore, in many industries the requirements of regulation and safety laws are important drivers. Regulations such as those governing food transport and storage, combustion and incineration, air quality, and global warming all rely on the need for industry to validate and properly use their measurement methods.

In all these areas the use of up to date thermal techniques and processes and the latest research outputs can make significant contributions to such things as improved product quality and competitiveness, increased energy efficiency, reduced environmental pollution, improvements in the heath and safety of citizens and the development of new and innovative materials thereby contributing to economic growth and wellbeing.
The steel industry is one example where use of improved thermal metrology can not only improve competitiveness but also reduce environmental pollution. In Europe the steel-making industry produces around 163 million metric tonnes (year 200 figure) of crude steel output each year. This represents around 19% of the world output. Energy represents about 15% of the total manufacturing cost of steel so energy efficiency is clearly a crucial area impacting on process efficiency and therefore market competitiveness of this industry. Particular areas where thermal metrology can help improve energy efficiency include the development of improved combustion processes for blast furnaces for higher efficiency and reduced NOx emissions and the use of advanced optical sensors and thermal imaging systems for improved temperature measurement and control in the harsh environments found in steel making plant.
Other examples are to be found in the construction industry. Here the benefits of implementing advanced thermal technology can be demonstrated by the fact that between 1992 and 1996 it is estimated that energy saving in UK, due to the improved insulation and efficiency standards enforced in 1970, has improved from 530.3 PJ to 652.9 PJ (+23%). It has also been estimated that that a 3% improvement in the thermal performance (insulation effect) of the replacement windows fitted in the UK in one year will result in a total saving of £27 million over 20 years (the life of the windows) and an annual saving in CO₂ emissions of 1600 tons. Scaling these estimates up to the European or world level clearly demonstrates the massive economic savings and the associated environmental benefits that are possible.
In these and many other industrial sectors and application areas an improved understanding and use of temperature and thermophysical properties measurements can lead to improved process efficiency, product quality and safety of operation, leading in turn to more competitive and less environmentally damaging industries and the subsequent economic benefits flowing from this.

7.3 Scientific and Technical Prospects

The European National Metrology Institutes (NMIs), universities and industrial organisations are either centres of excellence in the thermal metrology field or make use of thermal processes or techniques in their business. Their primary objective is to provide industry with the information, expertise and research outputs it needs to improve its products and processes and at the same time to improve the skill level of its employees.

Thermal metrology is an enabling technology that makes it possible to develop new products, processes, and techniques in a very wide range of industries. The key industrial sectors affected by thermal metrology were identified in section B 8.1 and it is in these areas that EVITherM is expected to have its greatest impact in terms of increased industrial competence and competitiveness, as a result of the adoption of new thermal techniques and processes, and a more skilled workforce, following from more accessible and industrially relevant knowledge transfer activities.
Section 7.1 explained the importance given by EVITherM to identifying the needs and requirements of industry and of supplying the appropriate information and expertise, primarily available from the aforementioned member organisations, in a manner that can be readily accessed by industry. However, little has been said about the material that forms the core of EVITherM and the wider scientific and technological benefits that are expected as a result of this material and the collaborative work that is required to generate it.
Thermal metrology is a scientific discipline that, like many other scientific disciplines, includes a number of specific and often highly specialised areas or topics. Each of these is normally associated with key industrial application and research areas and many have an impact in other scientific fields. In developing EVITherM it was considered necessary to ensure that each of the main underpinning thermal metrology topics required to support the key industrial sectors were covered with the result that the creation of the scientific and technical content for EVITherM has been subdivided into six work packages (WP 4 to WP 9). Each of these work packages will pull together material that is not only scientifically up to date and relevant to industrial needs but also will provide links to scientific and technical information in related fields. The work packages will be led and supported by members that are experts in the six specific fields. There will also be a strong interaction between scientific work package leaders and key industry representatives as a result of their participation on the EVITherM steering committee. This close relationship and interaction will be encouraged and developed further when EVITherM becomes a fully independent legal entity.
As a result of this organisational structure one of the wider benefits of setting up EVITherM will be a much closer linkage between the NMIs, universities and industrial organisations participating as members in its development. At the end of the project they will all be more aware of the activities and capabilities of their counterparts in other European countries. They will all benefit from a much closer interaction with European industry as it sees the benefits of EVITherM and increases its participation with it and the member organisations. This is expected to lead to stronger, more fruitful and industrially relevant pan-European collaborative research projects between member organisations and industry; a reduction in the duplication of research effort as the activities of European research organisations becomes more transparent and accessible to all via EVITherM; and a higher percentage of research outputs transferred to European industry in a shorter time scale because of the more industrially focused research direction and increased industrial participation brought about by EVITherM.
In summary, the formidable skills and expertise residing within EVITherM will be a catalyst to scientific and technical advances in all industries using thermal energy and temperature measurement and control.