Official UK procurement notice
SBRI Competition: Fusion Industry Challenges Cycle 1 Phase 2
Authority: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThis is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The aim of the competition is to develop solutions to fusion energy challenges in two key priority areas. The competition has two themes.
- Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital tools
- Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes
This is phase 2 of the competition. All successful phase 1 applicants are invited to this further competition.
CPV: Research services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · no lot values published · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital toolsAwarded
A Pre-Commercial Procurement Activity under SBRI
Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital tools
To meet Net Zero targets, there is not enough time for traditional Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) approach for fusion power plants. Increasing emphasis will be placed upon emerging innovation from in silico engineering design:
Exascale artificial Intelligence era Digital Thread platform
- beyond current Product Lifecycle Management
- endures for the lifetime of the product (100 years)
- low-code
- time efficient
- scalable
- enable and promote automation
- enable design integration and accelerate the product development lifecycle
Optimise the extraction of information and knowledge from experiment and simulation
Text update 19 May 2021: we have changed the detail below to clarify what we are looking for in applications.
- data science for experiment and simulation automation and optimisation
- decisions based upon all prior data rather than tacit knowledge
- dramatically improve extraction of information from data
- surrogate models and emulators
- improve extrapolation of simulation and empirical data
Lot #2Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopesAwarded
A Pre-Commercial Procurement Activity under SBRI
Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for Hydrogen isotopes
Tritium is a radioactive isotope with a half-life of around 12 years, because of this natural reserves are scarce. Developing techniques for safely and efficiently managing hydrogen isotopes is an essential step in the path to making fusion a commercial energy source, for example:
- Hydrogen Isotope Separation Technologies
- improving efficiency of tritium and hydrogen systems (e.g. pumps, sealants, inner loop)
- waste management and decommissioning
- development of on-line Tritium production measurement (e.g. Raman spectroscopy)
- tracking and location of hydrogen, e.g. Atom probe tomography, Raman spectroscopy
- Storage and delivery of Tritium
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 28 Apr 2023, 12:24 BST
- Last source update
- 28 Feb 2024, 11:18 GMT
- Authority reference
T/IB204/22- FTS notice number
2024/S 000-006363- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-03c50fFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
Pre-Commercial Procurement under SBRI. Not subject to Public Contract Regulations 2015.
- Review procedure
VI.4.2)Body responsible for mediation procedures
VI.4.3)Review procedure
Pre-commercial Procurement. Not subject to Public Contract Regulation 2015.
Notice history
2 releases on Find a TenderPublished amendments (1)
This corrigendum relates to the execution of Clause 37 – Scalability Funding, for SBRI Cycle 1 Phase 2 Further Competition T/IB204/22. In addition to the Agreement, the Contractor may propose scalable work packages subject to the Authorities assessment and input of such proposals. The Authority shall evaluate the proposed variation and may approve or reject it at its sole discretion. The Contrac…
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital tools2 awards | |||
| UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER | £833,306 † | — | Awarded |
| Full Matrix limitedSME | £796,410 † | — | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes5 awards | |||
| Aqsorption LimitedSME | £830,900 † | — | Awarded |
| Gencoa LimitedSME | £785,180 † | — | Awarded |
| IS-IntrumentsSME | £779,833 † | — | Awarded |
| University of Bristol | £832,731 † | — | Awarded |
| Cage Capture LimitedSME | £810,814 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital tools · UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £833,306
- Status
- active
Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital tools · Full Matrix limitedSME
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £796,410
- Status
- active
Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes · Aqsorption LimitedSME
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £830,900
- Status
- active
Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes · Gencoa LimitedSME
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £785,180
- Status
- active
Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes · IS-IntrumentsSME
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £779,833
- Status
- active
Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes · University of Bristol
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £832,731
- Status
- active
Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes · Cage Capture LimitedSME
- Signed
- 1 Mar 2023
- Value
- £810,814
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Accelerating fusion power plant design with next-generation digital tools | 5bids | — | — | — |
| 2 · Reducing fusion power plant fuel requirements with advanced production and handling technology for hydrogen isotopes | 7bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- UK Atomic Energy AuthorityMediation bodyReview bodyReview contact point
Bidders & participating suppliers
7 commercial parties on the notice- Aqsorption LimitedAwarded supplier
- Cage Capture LimitedAwarded supplier
- Full Matrix limitedAwarded supplier
- Gencoa LimitedAwarded supplier
- IS-IntrumentsAwarded supplier
- University of BristolAwarded supplier
- University of ManchesterAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.