Official UK procurement notice
Concept Design of a Laser Induced Desorption System for Measuring First Wall Retention in STEP
Authority: UK FUSION ENERGY LTD (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe following summary is not intended as a complete or definitive specification of the requirement. A purpose of this engagement is to seek information from the market to help refine our understanding and aid the development of a future specification.
UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Group, responsible for STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme to deliver the UK's prototype fusion energy plant.
This MEN aims to gather information from potential suppliers on solutions and capabilities in relation to the provision of a concept design and experimental plan of a Laser Induced Desorption Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (LID-QMS) system for measuring first wall retention. This is not a request for quotation but a preliminary stage to assess the market.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
ukifs.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Abingd… ↗
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
CPV: Engineering design services · Engineering services · Experimental development services · Research and experimental development services · Research laboratory services · Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How UK FUSION ENERGY LTD buys Research services (CPV 7311), and who usually turns up
UK FUSION ENERGY LTD’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Research services (CPV 7311) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 31 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid10% / 18%
2–357% / 31%
4–610% / 35%
7+24% / 16%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate30% / 43%
Within ±2%65% / 43%
Above estimate5% / 15%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7311Published estimate£75k
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 77 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid18%
2–331%
4–635%
7+16%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Apr 2026, 16:54 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Apr 2026, 16:54 BST
- Authority reference
PP-UKFE-572- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-033446- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068157Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
13 Apr 2026 → 16 Aug 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published198 days ago13 Apr 2026, 16:54 BST
- Market engagement170 days ago11 May 2026, 23:59 BST
This MEN aims to gather information from potential suppliers on solutions and capabilities in relation to the provision of a concept design and experimental plan of a Laser Induced Desorption Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (LID-QMS) system for measuring first wall retention. This is not a request for quotation but a preliminary stage to assess the market.
Suppliers responding to this MEN will have the opportunity to contribute insights that may shape the final tender requirements. All answers and correspondence will be used for market sounding purposes only and will be treated confidentially.
Any supplier that chooses to not respond to this MEN will not exclude themselves from any subsequent procurement for this workstream.
Should an NDA or similar be required, please contact the MEN Customer Contact.
Any estimated contract values and contract dates associated with the notice are indicative and do not represent a commitment by UKFE.
UKFE’s IP Policy: UKFE will own all foreground IP which is developed to deliver the STEP programme, including IP generated in projects with partners. UKFE requires a licence to any partner-owned background IP that is required to use and licence UKFE’s foreground IP freely
As part of this PME, UKFE may carry out a range of activities. These may include, but are not limited to: issuing follow-up questions to suppliers and reviewing their responses; engaging in discussions with suppliers either collectively or individually, such as through webinars or workshops; seeking feedback on proposed requirements; exploring procurement approaches; identifying potentially suitable suppliers; assessing market capacity; and discussing possible contractual terms. PME may also be used to support the development of award criteria and the refinement of tender documentation.
Any information provided in this notice, such as CPV codes, estimated contract values, anticipated contract dates and durations, and proposed engagement timelines - are indicative only and based on UKFE’s current understanding. These details may be subject to change. The purpose of PME is to improve our understanding of the market, refine our requirements, and shape our procurement strategy. The list of activities included here is illustrative rather than exhaustive, and the nature, extent and timetable of engagement may evolve in line with UKFE’s needs.
- Contract starts74 days ago16 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Apr 2026, 16:54 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender