BH5-19-004_JOFOC.pdf

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

LYNDON B. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER (JSC)

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (JOFOC)

For the Electrochemical Oxygen Generator and Concentrator (eCOG-C) Wafer Development

1. 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 for the acquisition of low pressure wafers and high pressure wafer coupons for the second progressive development effort leading to an electrochemical oxygen generator and concentrator (eCOG-C) for the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU). This is a continuation of the research that was conducted by American Oxygen Co. LLC (American Oxygen) on a previous competitive feasibility study.

2. FAR 6.303-2(b)(3) – A description of the supplies or services required, to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

NASA has a requirement for the design, development, and testing of an eCOG-C capable of producing oxygen at a pressure greater than 3000 psig (pounds per square inch gauge), and with oxygen purity greater than 99.99%. This oxygen generator and compressor will enable safe, effective reliable recharge of NASA’s Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) spacesuit oxygen tanks.

One safety requirement for this effort is that the system produce high pressure oxygen without having any hydrogen or other flammable material in the system. NASA’s advanced exploration system program requires that all key life support functions be demonstrated before the International Space Station (ISS) retires. eCOG-C supports NASA’s development timelines to develop spacesuit oxygen tank recharge capability before the end of the ISS program in 2024.

The estimated value for this effort is approximately $945,000 with a delivery date of approximately 115 days after award.

3. 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 for this action is 10 U.S.C. § 2304 and FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(B) which states that “supplies may be deemed to be available from the original source in the case of a follow-on contract for the continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment, including major components thereof, when it is likely that award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements.”

4. FAR 6.303-2(b)(5)&(9) – A demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited and any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition such as:

This effort represents a continuation of the work performed by the United States Air Force (USAF), as part of a technology development program to improve the delivery of high pressure, BH5-19-004 eCOG-C JOFOC 2 high purity oxygen for USAF applications, who contracted for the development of solid electrolyte oxygen separation technology. USAF contract No. FA8650-08-C-6824 was the main contract that supported this program, the period of performance was from 2000 to 2010 and the total cost of the contract exceeded $50,000,000.00. One portion of this contract focused on the development of a co-sintered, multilayer, planar, ceramic oxygen transport membrane. This portion of the contract ran from 2003 until 2010 and had a total cost of $8,000,000.00. NASA, as part of a technology development program to support exploration spacesuit operations, contracted for an assessment of solid electrolyte oxygen separation technology to meet spacesuit oxygen tank recharge requirements. NASA solicited a competitive feasibility assessment using electrochemical solid oxide methods to produce high pressure (>4000 psig) high purity (>99.99% O2) oxygen in a spacecraft environment. The request for a feasibility assessment was made on April 10, 2018 via Request for Quote (RFQ) 80NSSC18Q0690-1. Two companies (OxEon and American Oxygen) submitted proposals. OxEon proposed an approach based on water electrolysis and American Oxygen proposed an approach based on the co-sintered oxygen transport membrane. NASA contract No. 80NSSC18P2709 was awarded to American Oxygen. The contract was initiated in June 2018 and completed in December 2018. In the course of 80NSSC18P2709, American Oxygen assessed the feasibility of modifying the co-sintered oxygen transport membrane developed through the USAF program, for the NASA spacesuit oxygen tank recharge application. The feasibility assessment results were favorable from a technical perspective: American Oxygen developed a System Architecture Reference Design (SARD) that used the same material composition, same number of layers, same layer thickness, same cathode/porous support layer, and the same anode/porous support layer. The design details that took 8 years to develop under USAF contract could be used for the NASA application by implementing relatively minor modifications to the ceramic oxygen transport membranes already made by American Oxygen. NASA estimates that a full scale, fully operational oxygen tank recharge system that uses technology specified in the SARD could be developed before the end of 2024. American Oxygen, with the technology specified in the SARD, is the only company capable of meeting NASA’s safety requirements (the oxygen recharge system shall not contain hydrogen or similarly flammable materials), NASA’s technical requirements (oxygen purity >99.99%, pressure greater than 3000 psig) and NASA’s schedule requirements (system shall have a technical maturity sufficient to develop a full scale, fully operational system before the end of 2024). No other source has sufficient technical maturity.

Selection of a different eCOG-C manufacturer would require additional time to try and reach the same level of product maturity currently achieved from the prior efforts performed by American Oxygen.

a. FAR 6.303-2(b)(9) (i) – Explanation of why technical data packages, specifications, engineering description, statements of work, or purchase descriptions suitable for full and open competition have not been developed or are not applicable:

The Government is specifying a co-sintered, multilayer, planar, ceramic oxygen transport membrane that has internal channels for process airflow. This configuration meets the NASA’s requirement for space suit oxygen tank recharge which uses a planar ceramic oxygen transport membrane which can support a substantially higher (>2.5X) current density than a tubular configuration. American Oxygen has the in-house capability to manufacture a co-sintered, multilayer, planar, ceramic oxygen transport membrane with external process air

BH5-19-004 eCOG-C JOFOC 3 flow. The Government has sponsored a feasibility study (PO 80NSSC18P2709) to assess the viability to reconfigure the existing design to incorporate internal process airflow channels.

The results of the feasibility study were determined to be favorable by NASA, partly because modifications needed to incorporate internal process airflow channels are relatively minor.

The schedule for American Oxygen to develop test wafers for this contract is 115 days, while the estimated time to develop a full scale, fully operational cell stack is 2 years. The estimated time for another source to develop this technology is 8 years. The schedule for developing an oxygen delivery system using the technical approach specified in the American Oxygen System Architecture Reference Design complies with NASA programmatic need dates (full scale system ready for demonstration before the end of the ISS program in 2024). No other technical approach meets technical, safety, and schedule requirements.

5. 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:

Pursuant to FAR 5.201(b)(1), this action was synopsized on the Government Wide Point of Entry, located at www.FedBizOpps.gov. The synopsis was posted on May 8, 2019, requesting interested organizations to submit their capabilities and qualifications to meet NASA’s requirements. The synopsis closed May 17, 2019, and NASA did not receive a response from any potential sources stating interest in fulfilling NASA’s requirements.

6. 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 Contractor’s proposed price will be evaluated and determined fair and reasonable in accordance with the techniques detailed in FAR 15.404-1 prior to contract award. Such techniques may include comparison of proposed prices to historical prices paid for the same or similar items, or comparison of proposed prices with independent Government estimates.

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

In an effort to determine potential viable vendors, multiple market research methods were conducted. The xEMU team members conducted market research prior to the 2018 RFQ 80NSSC18Q0696-1 release for the previous effort. The community of NASA electrochemistry subject matter experts at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Glenn Research Center, and Johnson Space Center were asked to identify all companies working in the area of solid oxide electrochemistry.

At the time, the subject matter experts were not aware of any company other than American Oxygen LLC with the critical technology.

After release of the 2018 RFQ 80NSSC18Q0696-1, OxEon Energy submitted a quote for the work specified in the RFQ. While OxEon Energy does have experience and expertise in a key “balance of plant” technology, they use a different approach for the electrochemical cell stack that is not compatible with eCOG-C. NASA intends to pursue the development of the eCOG-C

BH5-19-004 eCOG-C JOFOC 4 technology, because it has the lowest projected development cost and the shortest projected development time. NASA intends to fully compete “balance of plant” parts of the eCOG-C system. NASA intends to contact OxEon, and similar suppliers for balance of plant parts of the system development

Lastly, a sources sought notice requesting capabilities statements from potential vendors was posted to identify potential vendors. NASA did not receive a response from any potential sources stating interest in fulfilling NASA’s requirements.

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

No sources responded to Synopsis number 80JSC019eCOGC.

b. 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:

This Agency will continue to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for these services are required. To do so, the procurement offices will coordinate with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) to ensure any needs for publicizing formal Requests for Information and sources sought synopses are met. These postings will enable the COR and technical community to gather crucial information regarding the options and available sources for the future testing needs of the Agency. The technical offices and COR will continue to monitor industry capabilities by attending related seminars and industry forums. The COR will also continue to review relevant technical journals, Government and commercial data bases, and internet resources for relevant information. Note that the technical work specified in the SOW is narrow in focus – it targets the ceramic oxygen transport membranes and the thermal management system aspects of eCOG-C design. It does not request a “turn-key capability”. The aspects of the eCOG-C system that can be effectively developed by several different companies, and do not require unique capabilities (pressure vessel & process instrumentation and control for instance) will be competitively bid.