Universities and industry prepare to compete to run national physical lab

Some 40 organisations have expressed an interest in running the National Physical Laboratory, with a “high proportion” expected to respond formally to an initial request for proposals this month.

Although the government has said that it wishes to see a university take over the centre, it seems that private companies are also interested. Research Fortnight understands that briefing material on NPL’s future was sent to “interested parties” including R&D firm Batelle, defence technology company Qinetiq, and the engineering laboratory Tuv Nel following a presentation in December last year.

The presentation was also sent to around 20 academic institutions, including the Universities of Edinburgh, Newcastle, Bath, Nottingham and Surrey. Other potential bidders include Imperial College London, University College London, King’s College London, and Cardiff and Loughborough Universities.