Sole Source Justification

This is a Sole Source Justification document for contract 6913G626Q300040 issued by the Department of Transportation's Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), Energy Analysis Division.

The Volpe Center seeks to procure technical analysis and assessment services from Washington State University (WSU) related to synthetic aviation turbine fuels, specifically sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The work supports the Federal Aviation Administration's representation at the International Civil Aviation Organization Committee for Aviation Environmental Protection (ICAO/CAEP), including participation in Working Group 5 (WG5). WSU will provide guidance and technical contributions toward developing Rules of Thumb resource materials, U.S.-based production capacity databases, and fuel accounting systems data. The justification asserts that WSU is the sole qualified source because it is the only entity with fully-vetted technoeconomic Rules of Thumb consistent with past ICAO resources, the only entity with a U.S.-focused production capacity dataset vetted by ICAO, and the only entity with current experience developing the Fuel Accounting Assessment for ICAO. The document indicates that contracting with any other source would result in missed opportunity, require significantly more resources and personnel, and jeopardize timely delivery of ICAO Rules of Thumb updates and Fuel Accounting Report revision by early 2027. No brand name restriction, unusual urgency provision, or alternative justification basis is cited for this sole source award.