23RJM46_JA_REDACTED.pdf

J&A Number: CR-23174 Code: 0233 PR Number: N0016423RJM46

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. Contracting Activity.

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC-CR), 023 Contracts Division.

2. Description of the Action Being Approved.

Award of a firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity supply contract on a sole source basis to General Atomics (GA), 3350 General Atomics Ct, San Diego, CA 92121 to procure spares for the Secure High Energy Density System (SHEDS) and Lithium Fault Tolerant (LiFT) battery systems for the .

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

GA developed a unique and innovative concept for a safe, scalable, high energy, large format lithium-ion battery system optimized for manned undersea vehicles. The scalable design was integrated and safety certified for operations on the

. Proprietary safety features, intentional failure modes, and software controls have been incorporated into the system design to mitigate and prevent mechanical, electrical, and thermal propagation ensuing from a single cell failure.

The total estimated dollar value for the proposed acquisition shall not exceed $8.1 million.

Ordering period is five years after contract award. The Government�s minimum requirements have been verified by the certifying technical and requirements personnel.

Estimated Dollar Value

FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26 FY27 Totals

Total $8.1M

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1), Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER

CRANE DIVISION

300 HIGHWAY 361

CRANE INDIANA 47522-5001

IN REPLY REFER TO:

J&A No. CR-23174

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority.

The NSWC Crane Expeditionary Energy Systems Branch was tasked by to facilitate the development of a safe, high-energy density lithium-ion battery optimized for integration within manned undersea vehicles.

Safety is the critical element for success in order to effectively demonstrate non-propagation between battery cells from a single, initiating failure.

Contract N00178-04-D-4119 FC28 TI16, awarded to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), was the contractual vehicle used for Phase I and Phase II. Two vendors, , were selected from several proposals to participate during Phase I, with a planned down-select preceding Phase II. The Phase I down-select was completed and Phase II was awarded to GA under NSWC Crane contract N0016413DGS12. GA fabricated and delivered a battery system half string assembly to NSWC Crane for use in assembly-level safety abuse tests. Phase II.5 was conducted to further characterize failures under outlier conditions considered to be out of scope during Phase I and II.

The Government received unlimited data rights for Phase I and Phase II and all data/documentation delivered/created in support of this effort is the property of the US Government. However, this action is not available for competition due to the significant duplication of costs and schedule delays associated with having another vendor complete Phase I and II.

Test results from Phase I, Phase II, and Phase II.5 were used as a basis for a Hazard Assessment for integration and operation of GA SHEDS/LiFT battery system on the and the to demonstrate the military utility of the battery system .

NAVSEA Lithium Battery Safety Certification was achieved for both applications to include land based and at-sea operations. The GA SHEDS battery system remains integrated with the with approximately five years of service. , the prime contractor for the program, has manufactured and will deliver with the GA battery, along with a full spare battery shipset. with the GA LiFT battery system has achieved NAVSEA Lithium Battery Safety Certification for land-based, at-sea, and limited CONOPS on .

If another vendor was awarded this effort, a duplication of effort would take place resulting in additional cost that could not be recouped through a competitive effort and unacceptable schedule delays. The development of a safe, scalable, high energy lithium ion battery was conducted through Phase I, II, and II.5 with a cost of $6 million and spanning more than 36 months. This process would necessarily be repeated and the Government would incur these same costs and time delays would transpire if another vendor was awarded this effort.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable.

Market research is continuously conducted for large format high energy density lithium battery systems that have lithium battery safety commercial classing or Navy certification. Currently there are no known commercial sources of large format high energy density lithium battery systems that have been NAVSEA Lithium Battery Safety Certified for operation on other than GA. No funding is available to test and approve another source. For the reasons discussed in paragraph 5 above, award to any company other than GA would cause an unreasonable duplication in cost and time.

Sources sought N00164SNB21 was posted to SAM.gov on 12 December 2022. The sources sought closed on 16 December 2022. GA submitted a white paper in response to this sources sought. No other responses were received. Synopsis N0016423RJM46 was posted to SAM.gov on 19 December 2022. The synopsis closed on 09 January 2023 and no responses were received.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

For the reasons set forth in Paragraph 5, NSWC Crane has no plans at this time to compete future contracts for the types of supplies/services covered by this document. If another potential source emerges, NSWC Crane will assess whether competition for future requirements is feasible.

CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL

TECHNICAL/REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance which are included in this Justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Technical Cognizance:

Phone No. Date

Requirements Cognizance:

Phone No. Date

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW

I have determined this Justification is legally sufficient.

Phone No. Date

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION

I certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Phone No. Date

COMPETITION ADVOCATE FOR THE PROCURING ACTIVITY APPROVAL

Upon the basis of the above justification, I hereby approve, as Competition Advocate for the Procuring Activity, the solicitation of the proposed procurement(s) described herein using other than full and open competition, pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1).

Richard McGarvey Date