The European Microkelvin Platform (EMP) is a consortium of 8 leading European ultralow- temperature laboratories and 9 technology partners and companies with the central goal of investigating and exploiting technology and materials which benefit from ultra-cold temperatures.
The environment of ultralow temperatures, where the thermal energy, or heat, is so small that the quantum nature of materials becomes evident on large scales. A well-known example is superconductivity. This is a state of matter, only occurring at very low temperatures, where currents in certain superconducting metals flow without resistance. This field already has large societal impacts, being used for power generation, commodity searches, transportation, and medical imaging to just name a few. Superconductivity is only one well-known example of the many extraordinary states of matter which uniquely occur at ultralow temperatures with the potential to impact everyday life by leading to novel technologies which can hardly even be envisioned today.
The overall objectives of the consortium have been to enhance and widen the integration of the leading ultralow temperature facilities in Europe under the umbrella of the European Microkelvin Platform which has led to strengthening Europe’s international leadership in ultralow temperature studies and technology. The ultralow temperatures labs of EMP opened their doors for all European researchers across the disciplines from academic institutions and companies that work on related problems and have not available the specific environments EMP can provide.
Combined, the EMP labs offered the most comprehensive portfolio of cryogenic facilities worldwide. Numerus users have applied for measuring time at EMP labs to pursue their own scientific ideas and projects. Each individual user project has been supported by EMP staff and scientists to ensure efficient and successful execution. Together with the EMP technology partners, the EMP labs carried out a targeted research programme that enhanced the capabilities for access and led to the exploitation of any technology that has been developed within the EMP programme. Scientific exchange and training of technical staff and young scientists were made available by conducting user meetings and topical summer schools.
The scientific community and the general public have been addressed and informed about the scientific goals and outcomes of the research programme carried out by EMP through a broad set of dissemination activities, like talks and presentations at conferences and public events, social media activities, press releases, TV and radio appearances, kids and student workshops, open lab nights, educational videos, and science shows.
The overall conclusions of this project are extremely positive in all aspects of the program. Not only have numerous projects been carried out at EMP by external user groups, which have led to important results ranging from fundamental physics to the development of quantum technology, but the impact of the EMP on the research landscape and the public has also been measurably strong. Reports on the results of the EMP have reached over 400 million people worldwide.
