Investments in reference equipment at RISE NMI 2019-2020

Important results from the project

This investment project deals with particularly expensive equipment with a scope of at least SEK 1 million/pc. In total, the grant is the investment grant of approx. 36.6 MSEK for the period 2017-2023 and is aimed at necessary so-called replacement investments. In the first part, 2017-2018, four investments were made to a total extent of SEK 13 million. In this second part, valid for the years 2019-2023, investments were made in an additional 10 different equipment to a total of SEK 23.6 million distributed across all National Measurement Sites for the physical quantities.

Expected long term effects

These investments replace equipment purchased in the 80s and 90s. In all cases, the investments involve not only a replacement of old equipment, but also equipment with new capabilities (modern equipment) which qualifies RISE NMI for participation in international cooperation, e.g. in research projects within EMPIR/EPM. This also leads to new competence resources for Swedish industry and society. Goal fulfillment is very good, i.e. in the end, after some delay due to long delivery times, all investments that were planned have been implemented.

Approach and implementation

The procurement of the total 14 (4+10) replacement investments was carried out following a decision by Vinnova and Vinnovas Programråd for Metrology. Setup and execution of the procurements have subsequently taken place in accordance with both Vinnova´s decision and RISE rules for the procurement of valuable equipment. The process has generally gone according to plan, but for several of the purchases it has taken a little longer than initially expected. This is due to complicated procurement processes and very long delivery times.