80GRC022C0003 JOFOC.pdf

Rev.:01/2021

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER (GRC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

FOR LONG LIFE THERMAL BATTERY DEVELOPMENT

1. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.303-2(b)(1) – Identification of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the document as a “Justification for other than full and open competition.”

This document is a justification for other than full and open competition prepared by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC).

The procuring agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the contracting activity is the NASA GRC.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(2) – The nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This justification provides the rationale for contracting by other than full and open competition to award a sole-source contract 80GRC022C0003 to Advanced Thermal Batteries, Inc. from Westminster, MD for the research and development of high temperature thermal batteries for the Long-Lived In-situ Surface Science Explorer (LLISSE) operating on the surface of Venus.

3. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the

Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

The NASA is procuring the research and development expertise from Advanced Thermal Batteries, Inc. for a thermal battery to provide electrical power for the Long Lived In-situ Solar Explorer for the surface of Venus. The estimated period of performance duration is two years with multiple deliverables of thermal batteries, electrical feedthrough seals, trade study documentation, and containment vessel design. The estimated dollar value of the contract is $380,000.

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(4) – An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition:

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C.

2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

The rationale supporting the use of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) is 6.302-1 Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The rationale why the use of this authority is appropriate is described below.

This is a follow-on research and development procurement with Advanced Thermal Batteries, Inc. (ATB). Over the past 2 years, ATB has developed an overall thermal battery design and electrochemical components that have demonstrated over 120 Earth-days of discharge operation under the LLISSE discharge profile. ATB has developed a low melting electrolyte optimized with an anode and cathode chemistry manufactured in-house at ATB on their specialized press equipment and dies. The successful chemistry and manufacturing processes developed under the initial R&D contracted effort are considered trade secret and are proprietary only to ATB.

NASA funded 2+ years of development effort that have been sunk into the thermal battery design at ATB and have been successful in scaling from single cells, to 5-cell designs, to 17-cell battery designs. The knowledge acquired through the design, fabrication, and testing of the developmental thermal batteries has generated a unique stacking arrangement of the electrochemical anode, cathode, and electrolyte pellets while maintaining concentricity of the pellets along with maintaining compression during the container welding operation with their unique fixtures.

Bringing an alternate thermal battery manufacturer in at this point would cause significant schedule delay to the LLISSE development since a duplicate chemistry, cell design, fabrication processes, and proven life testing would be required to bring the Technology Research Level (TRL) up to level 3 to be equal to that of Advanced Thermal Battery, Inc.

6. FAR 6.303-2(b)(6) – A description of the efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies:

A notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website (Sam.gov) was published on July 28, 2021, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2 with a closing date of August 12, 2021. This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to Advanced Thermal Batteries, Inc. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

7. FAR 6.303-2(b)(7) – A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

The Contracting Officer’s signature on this document indicates that the Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated cost to the government will be fair and reasonable. The Contractor shall be required to submit a proposal to be evaluated and negotiated by the Government. Prior to execution of the contractual instrument, a proposal analysis will be performed. The proposal analysis will ensure that the final agreed-to price for the contract action is fair and reasonable. The proposed cost, fee, and pricing will be determined fair and reasonable per 15.401-1 Proposal Analysis Techniques.

Based upon recent prior proposals submitted be ATB for similar thermal battery development effort for labor, materials, and testing the information will form the basis for the analysis of the new proposal. In addition, previous thermal battery vendors originally interested in the LLISSE project and provided initial batteries will also form a basis of proposal analysis.

8. FAR 6.303-2(b)(8) – Description of the market research conducted, and the results, or a statement of the reasons a market research was not conducted:

No market research was conducted for this procurement. This is a follow-on procurement for a non-commercial thermal battery design that builds upon prior proprietary designs, chemistry, and procedures that cannot be transferred to other manufactures to enhance competition.

9. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) – Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:

Technical data packages, specifications, engineering description, and purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed and are not applicable due to company proprietary and trade secret data associated with the thermal battery design from Advanced Thermal Battery, Inc. Only the NASA generated statement of work is openly available.

An estimate of the cost to the Government that would be duplicated that would not be recovered through competition is listed below. The basis of the estimate was historical contract procurements and modifications to develop a thermal battery for Venus applications at NASA GRC over the past 3 years.

TRL 1-3 [TEXT REDACTED]

Developed thermal battery chemistry and electrolyte to demonstrate >50 Earth-day of discharge energy under LLISSE load profile in 1/3 scale 3-cell sealed stainless steel containers with Fe/Ni electrical feedthroughs. Conducted 28+ cell designs and destructive physical analyses to determine failure modes and modified stack designs.

Test two 1/3 scale (17-cell series connected) 25V battery units in a furnace with a nitrogen atmosphere at 15 psi under a true LLISSE power discharge profile at NASA GRC. After completing the discharge, the battery will be re-charged and subsequently discharged to validate capacity retention.

TRL 4 [TEXT REDACTED]

[TEXT REDACTED] Develop optimized thermal battery design to attain 60 Earth-day lifetime

[TEXT REDACTED] electrical feedthroughs braze to be compatible with Venus surface

[TEXT REDACTED]

[TEXT REDACTED] mini-GEER facility upgrade and testing

If the requested contract is not executed, then the estimated cost to duplicate the successful effort demonstrated by Advanced Thermal Batteries, Inc. [TEXT REDACTED] plus a delay of at least 2.5 years to bring a competitor on-line. This does not imply that the new vendor will be successful in their design efforts as there was a fair amount of failures that were encountered to achieve the necessary discharge life for the LLISSE mission.

10. FAR 6.303-2(b)(10) – A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed an interest in writing in the acquisition:

A notice of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source action was synopsized on the GPE website (Sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above). The synopsis, https://sam.gov/opp/2619a9c2d55242ca814e45cbb5c75dbd/view, was posted on July 28, 2021, with a closing date of August 12, 2021.

The Contracting Officer has not received any interests or challenges from the industry concerning the Intent to Sole Source.

11. FAR 6.303-2(b)(11) – A statement of actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The Agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.