KRISS Holds Battery Research Cooperation Workshop with the UK's NPL

▲ Group photo with the UK battery delegation

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) held a joint workshop on battery research cooperation with a delegation from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) of the United Kingdom on March 3. During the workshop, the two institutions discussed advanced battery technologies, safety, and commercialization strategies between the two countries.

* NPL (National Physical Laboratory) is the United Kingdom’s national metrology institute, established in 1900.

The workshop began at the terrace café of the Physics Lab at KRISS and continued with a laboratory tour at the Materials Evaluation Lab. A total of 20 researchers from KRISS and NPL participated in the event.

From KRISS, participants included Dr. Shin Hosun, Principal Research Scientist of the Emerging Material Metrology Group, and Ms. Park Hyerin, Head of the Center for International Cooperation, along with other researchers. The NPL delegation included Pierre Kubiak, Krisha Vajaria, and additional representatives.

Experts from related organizations—including the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the British Standards Institution (BSI), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Faraday Institution, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)—also joined the discussions.

The workshop opened with an overview of KRISS and a presentation on its battery research capabilities titled "Overview of Research Activities at KRISS: Advancement and Standardization of Multi-environment Technologies for Battery Research." Dr. Shin Hosun introduced KRISS's major research achievements in battery materials, cells, and electrodes, as well as its advanced measurement technologies. He also presented the next-generation battery standardization strategy of the Environment-Adaptive Smart Secondary Battery Strategic Research Group, a Global TOP Strategic Research Center project.

The NPL delegation then introduced the United Kingdom's battery ecosystem strategy and innovation programs through a presentation titled "The UK Battery Ecosystem: Introduction and Strategic Priorities." The session also highlighted industrialization and commercialization cases, covering topics such as micro-mobility, residential Energy Storage Systems (ESS), smart battery system validation, international certification frameworks, and battery recycling technologies.

▲ KRISS–UK battery research cooperation workshop

The UK government has been implementing battery support policies since 2017 to facilitate the transition of the automotive industry, systematically supporting both battery technology research and industrialization. Under the UK Battery Strategy, established in 2023, the scope of support has been expanded beyond the automotive sector to a wide range of industries. The strategy also promotes an integrated approach that includes strengthening collaboration between academia and industry, accelerating the commercialization of innovative technologies, and supporting scale-up across the battery value chain—from materials and cells to modules.

Through the seminar, participants reviewed the technological capabilities and strategic focus areas of both countries in the battery sector and explored potential areas for cooperation. Discussions covered a wide range of topics, including smart battery safety, Battery Management System (BMS) validation, battery recycling, and international certification frameworks.

The seminar was followed by a laboratory tour at KRISS, where participants observed facilities for evaluating the electrochemical characteristics of battery materials and cells. The visit also provided an opportunity to share KRISS's research infrastructure and experimental environment for battery research.

▲ Laboratory tour of battery research facilities

In recent years, NPL has actively expressed its intention to strengthen cooperation with KRISS in advanced fields such as quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors, dispatching delegations to KRISS for collaborative discussions.

In 2025, at the request of NPL, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between KRISS and NPL was revised to explicitly include cooperation in the quantum field. The seminar is expected to further reinforce joint research collaboration between the two institutions and create opportunities to expand future cooperative outcomes.