The British Cryogenics Council
The British Cryogenics Council [BCC] is at the centre of the British Cryogenics Network, bringing together academic & research organisations with industrial & commercial business to communicate and promote the positive enabling role which cryogenics plays in so many fields from food to healthcare, energy, science and space, to encourage education and training in cryogenic skills, and to represent the substantial British Cryogenics Sector at home and abroad, in Government and elsewhere.
Expertise:
The principal role is to connect individuals and organisations, through communications and events. The BCC has a substantial website at www.bcryo.org.uk and both monthly and quarterly newsletters distributed worldwide. A range of events runs throughout the calendar, some designed to bring Members together for review of Marketing, Technical issues and Skills, others designed to showcase the substantial range and strength of British expertise in Cryogenics.
Applications:
One of the messages from the BCC is the ubiquitous nature of Cryogenics, illustrated in a report on the Economic Impact of Cryogenics, estimating that 17% of the UK Economy was broadly associated with Cryogenics ie that without Cryogenics almost one fifth of the UK Economy would have to find an alternative - making Cryogenics a more important enabling technology than often recognised. We would encourage other countries to replicate this research to give more robust data.
Recent Developments:
Growth in application of Cryogenics seems inexhaustible. Here are two examples : Quantum Technology and Liquid Air. Quantum Technology is being pursued in computing, imaging and sensing amongst other fields. In each of these, Cryogenics is once more necessary for its enabling capacity, cooling superconductors or single photon counting detectors for example. Meanwhile Liquid Air is playing a part in Energy Storage, with a related development seeing engine propulsion by Liquid Nitrogen in a zero-emission application in refrigerated transport.
