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Standards and Reference Materials
NIST develops physical artifacts for calibration and serves as a leader in international bodies to ensure U.S. interests are represented in the global Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) market. Learn more below.
Jump to: Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) | Documentary Standards
NIST produces and maintains a portfolio of reference materials traceable to the International System of Units (SI), designed to ensure the accuracy and comparability of measurement results across the global supply chain. This portfolio consists of high-purity reference materials, such as pure elements and chemical compounds used for precise calibration, as well as matrix reference materials that contain elements within complex, real-world samples to enable measurement validation and quality control. Read more about NIST’s SRMs. Contact: Michael Winchester
- NIST SRM 3100 Series (Spectrometric Single Element Standard Solutions): This foundational series offers a primary traceability link to the SI for 66 individual elements, effectively supporting many of the listed CMMs, including Lithium (SRM 3129a), Cobalt (SRM 3113), Neodymium (SRM 3135a), and Yttrium (SRM 3167a).
- Matrix Reference Materials: NIST also produces and maintains SRMs that contain elements within a complex sample matrix, which are used for measurement validation and quality control. This SRM portfolio includes 12 geological rocks/minerals, 23 raw ores, 13 soils/sediments, and over 90 non-ferrous metals (including nickel, cobalt, titanium, and aluminum alloys).
Documentary Standards
NIST participates in documentary standards committees to support the technical underpinnings of supply chain resilience, ensuring that methods for characterizing, recycling, and certifying CMMs are grounded in accurate, consensus-driven measurement science.
NIST scientists actively participate in documentary standards committees, specifically those related to our Research Areas, ensuring that the technical expertise and knowledge generated through NIST research informs the development of standards. In these committees, NIST staff collaborate with a diverse range of stakeholders, including representatives from industry, academia, and other government agencies, to identify and develop voluntary, open, consensus-based documentary standards. If you have questions about particular standards activities, please reach out to the contacts listed in the tables below or to Kelsea Schumacher.
NIST Standards Organizations and Committees Involvement
Standard Development Organization | Committee | NIST Representative |
|---|---|---|
ISO | TC 298: Rare Earth | John Bonevich (US TAG Chair) |
TC 333: Lithium | John Bonevich (US TAG Chair) & Jamie Weaver | |
TC 345: Materials for Specialty Technologies | John Bonevich (US TAG Chair) | |
TC 82/TC 7: Sustainable Mining and Closure | ||
ISO TC 261: Additive manufacturing | ||
ASTM International | F42: Additive Manufacturing Technologies | |
IEEE | P4001: Characterization and Calibration of Hyperspectral Imaging Devices Working Group | |
P4005: Standards and protocols for soil spectroscopy | ||
SAE International | Battery Global Traceability Standards Committee | |
Battery Standards Recycling Committee |