NPL is a world-leading centre in the development and application of highly accurate measurement techniques. As the UK's national standards laboratory, NPL underpins the national measurement system, ensuring consistency and traceability of measurements throughout the UK. Other areas of expertise include the design and characterisation of engineering materials, and the development of mathematical software, especially its application to measurement and instrumentation. www.npl.co.uk

Is a National Metrology Institute of Czech Republic. CMI covers all the key fields of fundamental, industrial and legal metrology, maintaining and developing national standards, performing metrology research and measurements from primary etalons up to the level of practical calibrations for industry. Since 1998, a scientific group forming later Department of Nanometrology focused on scanning probe microscopy metrology and related methods development. This includes at present providing traceability for scanning probe microscopy methods (metrology SPM), and developing methods for quantitative analysis of different physical quantities with nanometer resolution and numerical analysis. The main effort of the Department is equally distributed between scientific projects, instrumentation development and publication activities.

LNE (Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d'Essais) is a state-owned company attached to the French Ministry of Industry. LNE's public service missions are 1) operate as the national reference laboratory in metrology, 2) pursue its scientific and technological development in order to anticipate new measurement and testing requirements in the fields of energy, safety, health, quality and environmental protection, 3) provide state authorities and key economic players with the technical assistance they require to draft new regulations and standards at national, European and International level. As a National Metrology Institute (NMI), LNE has been developing for many years competencies, comprehensive and high accuracy facilities for measuring the main thermophysical properties of materials, such as thermal transport properties, caloric quantities and radiative properties in large temperature ranges. LNE has strong expertise in the development and adaptation of facilities for the measurement of those properties on many materials.

In METCO project, LNE will adapt techniques for traceable measurements, up to 800°C, of thermophysical properties related to heat transport (thermal conductivity, specific heat, thermal diffusivity) and of spectral radiative properties of piezoelectric and electrocaloric materials under electric field. Those properties are required to quantify figures of merit of those materials.

MIKES is the National Metrology Institute of Finland. MIKES metrology realises the SI system measurement units in Finland, performs high-level metrological research and develops measuring applications in partnership with industry.

The MIKES Length group research activities cover wide range from realisation of national measurement standards instruments like stabilised lasers and interferometers to closely industry related issues like form, roughness and co-ordinate metrology. An example of recent development relevant to high accuracy surface topography measurement is the development of the interferometrically traceable AFM

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is the national metrology institute of Germany. PTB performs fundamental research and development work in the field of metrology as a basis for all the tasks entrusted to it in the areas concerning the determination of fundamental and natural constants, the realization, maintenance and dissemination of the legal units of the SI, safety engineering, services and metrology for the area regulated by law and for industry, as well as technology transfer.

aixACCT is a world leading manufacturer of test systems for piezoelectric materials and devices. Founded in 1999 the SME employs nowadays over 10 people. The products of the company can perform all standard characterisation methods for ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials. This comprises electrical and electromechanical characterisation and qualification of piezoelectric thin films as well as bulk ceramics or multilayers.

The University of Leeds is a research intensive member of the Russell Group located in the city of Leeds, England, with its campus home to over 40,000 staff and students. The Faculty of Engineering undertakes internationally excellent and world-leading research with 80% of the output undertaken ranked as 3* or above in the 2008 RAE and ranked 8th in the UK for 'research power'. Within the Faculty, Institute for Materials Research contributes to development of functional materials in areas such as photonics, carbon science and ferroelectrics.