The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)
– the national metrology institute providing scientific and technical services

An efficient infrastructure for metrology, standardization, testing and quality assurance is a fundamental prerequisite for a modern industrial state. Only an optimized metrological infrastructure makes the proper use of technology for the benefit of man, for the efficient and ecologically compatible use of energy and raw materials and for the exchange of goods possible, even across frontiers. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig and Berlin, which comes under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, has been entrusted with this task in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The existence of federal institutes is based on a mandate given by the state and laid down in laws and ordinances. As regards the PTB, this mandate is of a constitutional nature, derived from the State's original responsibility for uniformity in metrology and for the safety and protection of the citizen. This concerns also the confidence which each individual, be it as a consumer, an authority or firm, must have in the reliability and impartiality of measurements. It is the PTB’s specific task, entrusted to it by the State, to make available to the society and to trade and industry an efficient metrological infrastructure recognized on the international level. Research work and thetechnological development serve to accomplish this task with competence and a sense of responsibility.

The share of research and development in the four areas of work of the PTB represented opposite has been 66 % in the last year.