Attachement A - SOW EII RFP EETA 1125.pdf

Statement of Work Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Initiative Subject Matter Experts for Industrial Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (IEETA) November 4, 2025

Background The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Industrial Technologies Office (ITO) is conducting an effort to help Energy Intensive Industries (EII) – Chemicals (including refining), Pulp and Paper, Food & Beverages, Iron & Steel, Non- Ferrous metals and Non-metallic minerals. These EII sectors offer significant potential to save energy and reduce operating cost. ITO would like to identify opportunities in areas such as energy efficiency, process / utility integration, water efficiency waste reduction and provide technical assistance to EII plants.

The Industrial Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (IEETA) has been designed to identify opportunities that will lead to implemented projects for reductions in site energy use, water use, and waste. DOE employed Subject Matter Experts (SME) are needed to perform the IEETA. The SMEs are experts in industrial utility and process systems and have been selected by DOE due to their vast knowledge and experience in working with manufacturers to optimize these industrial utility and process systems.

The IEETA will provide plants with the necessary knowledge, tools, and resources to reduce manufacturing energy costs, improve their competitiveness, and meet any internal plant/corporate goals of reducing energy intensity and costs. The focus of IEETA will be:

a. Identify savings opportunities (for energy, process, water, and waste) and relevant technologies that have high potential for implementation in the EII plants

b. Establish performance metrics and actionable measures to improve performance

c. Collect key metrics and feedback from stakeholders to inform DOE EII program

d. Provide information to EIIs on available DOE resources, offerings and funding

e. Assist in the development of necessary sector-specific tools and resources

f. Provide training for process-specific / utility systems

Traditionally, DOE energy assessments and treasure hunts have been performed on utility systems - steam, process heating, compressed air, pump, fans, process cooling and refrigeration. But IEETA is expected to include energy assessments for both process and utility systems. Hence, IEETA can be focused on any utility system at the EII plant or they may specifically target a process area and/or unit operation. Examples of these process specific energy assessments could be temperature pinch analysis, heat exchanger optimization, distillation columns, paper-machines, cement making, multi-stage evaporators, furnaces, dryers, electrification, etc.

Within the IEETA, DOE also wants to provide additional technical Subject Matter Expert Assistance (SMEA) to all EII plants. This SMEA will be offered on a cost/benefit basis and will be designed to assist plants to improve the potential for implementing energy savings opportunities, to assist plants in implementing process-based technology solutions that can improve plant efficiency and productivity, and to assist plants with improving their plant energy management systems.

Task Descriptions & Deliverables Each SME (Seller) who is awarded a contract will be required to perform Task 1 described below. Each SME is also expected to perform work described under Task 2 and/or Task 3 described below. For every contract assigned to the SME, there will be an ORNL Technical Project Officer (TPO) and a designated alternate. They serve as the main points of contact between the SME and the DOE EII program.

Task 1 – Participate in IEETA Web-based Training

The SME will be required to participate in a web-based training session before conducting energy assessments or providing SMEA to EII plants. The purpose of the training session is to ensure that the SME understands the scope of the efforts that must be performed and is aware of the DOE tools and resources as well as the reporting requirements for IEETA. The effort spent participating in the web-based training sessions shall not exceed 4 manhours. It is anticipated that the training session(s) will be conducted once the RFP closes and the awardees are selected.

Prior to the web-based training session, the SME shall submit:

a. Number of weeks in the calendar year 2026 that the SME is available for IEETA activities

b. A biographical statement (10-15 lines maximum) and digital photo

c. Personal contact information including office phone number, cell phone number, primary email address, mailing address.

It is possible that additional web-based training sessions may be scheduled – if these are necessary then the SME will be required to participate in these additional web-based training sessions.

Deliverables (Task 1)

1. Submission of SME information prior to the webinar

2. Attendance at the web-based training sessions

Task 2 – Conduct Energy Assessments and Prepare Final Report

The SME shall conduct up to a maximum of 5 energy assessments in EII plants in the calendar year 2026. The exact number of energy assessments will depend on the demand and requests from the EII plants. The SME is also encouraged to identify potential EII plants that may benefit with an assessment. There is no guarantee that the identified EII plant may be awarded an assessment – that will depend on the identified EII plant and the requested assessment meeting all the criteria established by DOE for awarding an assessment. All work related to the assessment will need to be approved by the TPO or designated alternate. The SME is not authorized to perform an assessment until either the TPO or designated alternate notifies the SME in writing via e-mail that work on the assessment can begin. The SME will also coordinate with the TPO and keep DOE updated on progress before, during and after the assessment.

To ensure unbiased assessment results, the SME shall be responsible for notifying the TPO or designated alternate if the SME has a conflict of interest with the EII plant. A conflict of interest may involve, but will not be limited to, a contractual agreement, prior commitment, or memorandum of understanding with a client or competitor in the same or similar industry that could bias the findings of the SME or influence the results of the assessment.

Prior to conducting each assessment, the SME shall use up to 10 manhours of effort in preparing for the assessment.

Preparation time shall involve, but shall not be limited to, making initial contact with the EII plant personnel and participating in conference calls to identify assessment plant team members and their responsibilities, developing the assessment agenda and scope of the system(s) to be covered by the assessment. Additionally, technical information from plant personnel pertaining to the process / utility systems, operations, energy consumption, production data, etc., will also be collected before or during the onsite visit. Technical information in the form of Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) and Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) can also be requested from the plant and studied by the SME prior to the site visit. Most EII plants will require an NDA before any information is transferred and if so, the SME should work independently with the EII plant to execute the NDA.

In conducting the assessment, the SME shall spend up to 10 manhours of effort each day at the plant site – for up to 3-4 days - identifying potential energy and cost savings opportunities. In some instances, depending on how much data exchange occurred prior to the onsite visit, half a day at the start of the assessment onsite could be directed to understanding the plant layout and a high-level overview of the operations. The EII plants themselves would generally be the main source of data (eg. PI-historian) but ORNL’s Diagnostic Equipment Program can be requested to provide any portable instrumentation required for the assessment for any spot measurements or short-term data logging. Due to a large demand from the Better Plants partners for instruments, sometimes it may not be possible to complete all these requests. In those cases, the SME will use their own portable instrumentation, as deemed necessary, to complete the assessment. During the assessment, the SME shall use a personal computer that can operate the applicable DOE energy software platforms (MEASUR, JUSTIFI, Pinch Analysis, etc.) for quantifying potential energy savings. At the end of the on-site portion of the assessment, the SME shall provide a briefing to plant personnel on the potential energy savings opportunities that were identified and suggest recommendations for reducing energy consumption.

After finishing the on-site portion of each assessment, the SME is responsible for preparing and submitting a draft assessment summary report and any other supporting material - software models, infra-red and digital pictures, presentations, and materials that provide an understanding of the savings and any other opportunities that were discovered during the assessment. If software models beyond what is available from the US DOE and in the public domain are used then they should be shared within the licensing limits. If these software models cannot be shared, then results from them in the form of screenshots should be included in an appendix in the report. This would help to clarify the assumptions made and ensure repeatability of the results by the plant personnel or 3rd party.

All the materials and the draft summary report will be submitted electronically via email to EII Plant Lead and the TPO. The draft summary report shall be submitted no later than 30 working days after the onsite portion of the assessment is completed. The SME shall finalize the summary report by addressing comments that may be provided to the SME by either the ORNL TPO or designated alternate and the EII plant personnel. Comment resolution shall involve making the necessary corrections or revisions to the draft summary report and then resubmitting the final summary report. The total effort required to prepare and complete the assessment report shall be commensurate with the scope of the assessment, EII plant size and complexities. The final report is expected to be submitted no later than 60 days after the assessment onsite visit.

Deliverables (Task 2)

1. Participation in pre-site visit conference calls with DOE and EII plant personnel

2. Preparation of agenda, scope of the assessment, etc.

3. Pre-site visit data collection and developing an understanding of the system in focus

4. Complete travel plans and logistics (including instrumentation request from DOE/ORNL) for onsite visit

5. Complete onsite assessment

6. Draft report with associated supporting materials

7. Final report

Task 3 – Provide Subject Matter Expert Assistance (SMEA) to EII Plants and DOE

A SME may be requested to provide SMEA to EII plants who may or may not have undertaken an assessment. The SMEA requested after an EII plant has completed an assessment can take various forms, including but not limited to:

a. Additional technical or financial analysis for identified assessment opportunities

b. Engineering feasibility studies for identified assessment opportunities

c. Advising and guiding the EII plant to make appropriate connections with equipment suppliers, funding agencies and other pertinent contractors to help develop the projects

d. Business case development for assessment opportunities.

SMEA can also be requested by EII plants that do not plan to do an assessment or may not have decided yet on doing an assessment. The SMEA requested by those EII plants can take various forms, including but not limited to:

a. Training in a specific process / technology

b. Very specific process or utility technology help most often to debottleneck a production-related issue

c. Third-party verification for application of new technology

d. Comparison of multiple proposals to identify pros and cons and provide help in defining risks and rewards of different approaches.

This task may also include SMEA required by the DOE. The SMEA requested by DOE can also take various forms, including but not limited to:

a. Providing guidance on developing assessment and SMEA program protocols

b. Support for preparing assessment program training materials, software tools and resources

c. Review of technical reports

d. Sharing of certain software tools and models developed by the SME for inclusion in the DOE software platform

– MEASUR or in another configuration

e. Any other activities to support the success of the program efforts.

There is no set minimum or maximum effort limit for performing the SMEA for the EII plants or DOE. Nevertheless, the Task 1 web-training will identify the specific elements of how SMEAs are to be performed and their associated protocols. The SME can also identify the opportunity to offer SMEA to the EII plant. Every effort will be made to justify that the SME that identified the EII plant and the opportunity would be awarded that SMEA, but there is no guarantee that SME would be assigned the SMEA work. This would be at the discretion of the TPO who will always ensure that the best available SME for the specific SMEA is awarded the work unless there are scheduling conflicts or conflicts of interests with the best SME available.

If a SME is identified to perform the SMEA, they will provide the TPO or designated alternate with a preliminary estimate of the timeline and budget anticipated to perform the SMEA activity – a form will be provided for use in preparing this estimate. This estimate will include the estimated effort to conduct the SMEA, an estimate of the anticipated costs required to prepare a SMEA Summary Report, and an estimate of travel costs, if any, required for the SMEA effort. The TPO or designated alternate will approve each SMEA activity before any work can be initiated by the SME.

After finishing a SMEA effort, the SME is responsible for preparing and submitting a draft SMEA summary report as will be defined in Task 1 in the web-based training. The draft SMEA report and other required information will be submitted electronically to the TPO. The draft SMEA summary report shall be submitted no later than 10 working days after the SMEA activity is completed. The SME shall finalize the summary report by addressing reviewer comments that may be provided to the Seller by either the TPO or designated alternate, or the EII plant personnel.

Comment resolution shall involve making the necessary corrections or revisions to the draft summary report and then resubmitting the final SMEA summary report.

Deliverables (Task 3)

1. Timeline, budget of SMEA

2. Complete SMEA

3. Draft report with associated files

4. Final report

Travel & Related Costs

The SME shall submit receipts for travel and other reimbursable travel-related costs incurred in accordance with the terms and conditions of this subcontract. Additional details will be discussed during the Task 1 web-based training.

Costs for renting, buying, maintaining, or calibrating measurement equipment including a personal computer that is provided by the SME or plant personnel for acquiring data needed to characterize component performance or quantify energy savings are not a reimbursable expense under this subcontract.

Invoices

The SME shall submit an invoice for 4 manhours of the Task 1 web-based training within 14 calendar days after the date of the training session that they attended.

The SME shall submit a separate invoice for each assessment or SMEA at the same time when all the deliverables of Task 2 or Task 3 are submitted. Expenses on these invoices shall only reflect the manhours for conducting the assessment or SMEA and the associated travel expenses. The invoice can be submitted via email to Accounts Payable or via the ARIBA accounting system. Instructions for submitting the invoice and the associated receipts will be provided in the web-based training in Task 1. A copy of each invoice that is submitted to the ORNL accounts payable department shall also be sent by the SME to the TPO.

Invoices for manhours unrelated to the assessment or the SMEA or by individuals other than the SME will not be approved.

Safety & Health Requirements

Prior to conducting assessment and SMEA activities at EII plant sites, the SME shall review, be trained, or be escorted by plant personnel in accordance with requirements contained in written plant safety documentation (i.e., Job Hazard Analysis, Activity Hazard Analysis, Work Area Health and Safety Plan). This documentation identifies the health and safety requirements for all activities performed at that EII plant. While on site, the SME is responsible for complying with the health and safety requirements described in the written plant safety documentation. If no written plant safety documentation is available for review, no training is provided, or no escort is assigned, the SME shall notify the TPO or designated alternate before proceeding with the efforts. The SME is also authorized to terminate work activities and notify the TPO or designated alternate if the SME has concerns about specific safety or health issues that arise during the assessment or SMEA activities.

The SME shall attend and successfully complete all mandatory training required by the individual site contacts for that plant. The SME shall undergo and maintain all Health and Safety Training required to perform assessment or SMEA activities.

The SME is responsible for providing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for all operations and tasks where there is exposure to hazardous conditions or where there is the need for using such equipment to reduce hazards. All PPE shall meet or exceed applicable OSHA or ANSI standards.

The Seller shall comply with all OSHA requirements that apply to assessment or SMEA activities. All recordable injuries and illnesses (as determined under 29 CFR 1904.12(c)) must be reported to the plant and TPO immediately regardless of the cost of the contract.

Prohibition Against Release of Confidential or Proprietary Information

While performing an assessment or SMEA activities under this subcontract, the SME may obtain information or material that is considered business sensitive, confidential, or proprietary. The SME must not publish, disseminate, disclose, or otherwise make available the information or material obtained in performing this subcontract to any person, business, organization, or government agency other than ORNL. This requirement is irrespective of whether the information or material is collected by DOE, ORNL, or the SME under a subsequent agreement.

While performing Task 2 or Task 3, the Seller shall refrain from promoting consulting services or selling products during the assessment or SMEA activities. Such behavior will immediately result in cancellation of the work order.

Evaluation Criteria Energy Intensive Industries (EII) Initiative Subject Matter Experts for Industrial Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance (IEETA) November 4, 2025

Proposals will be accepted from all SMEs in all disciplines whether they have worked previously for DOE or not. SMEs will need to define their specific subject matter expertise and provide which of the specific EII sectors – Chemicals (including refining), Pulp and Paper, Food & Beverages, Iron & Steel, Non-Ferrous metals and Non-metallic minerals

– they plan to work within this program. An SME can provide their topics of SMEAs and examples of their work and interactions with EII plants in those areas.

Proposals will be evaluated using the following three criteria, each of which are of equal importance.

Criteria 1: Relevant Technical Experience

The SME’s proposal shall be evaluated on the education, background, accomplishments, certifications, qualifications, specific training, project studies and other pertinent information related to the skills necessary to perform both or either of the tasks (Task 2 and Task 3) provided in the Statement of Work. Relevant experience must include demonstrated experience in industrial energy efficiency and process-specific work as it relates to Tasks 2 and 3. It must include experience in performing energy efficiency and process-related assessments and/or providing technical assistance to industrial plants to assist them in implementing energy-saving and productivity improvement projects.

The US DOE used to have a Qualified Specialists program in the past. Qualified Specialists are individuals who have satisfied the DOE Specialist Qualification - steam, process heating, compressed air, pump, or fan system training program requirements, and thus have demonstrated - by passing an examination - that they are proficient in the use of DOE software tools developed for one of these five plant utility system areas. Being a “Qualified Specialist” is NOT a requirement for an award under this program but SMEs should mention if they are a Qualified Specialist and the utility system that they had been qualified to assess with the DOE tools.

Criteria 2: Relevant Energy Assessment Performance Experience

The SME’s proposal shall be evaluated based on demonstrated performance and results in performing energy efficiency assessments in large industrial plants over the past three years. The SME shall provide at least three examples of successful industrial energy efficiency assessments that have been performed during the last three years. The SME shall provide written evidence (without breaching any confidential agreements that they may have with the industrial plants) of the success of the past assessments performed – including a description of each assessment, an overview of the activities performed, and information on the key energy savings results and projects identified in the assessments. The SME can also provide industrial plant references who can substantiate the assessment results presented.

Criteria 3: Relevant Subject Matter Expert Technical Assistance Experience

The SME’s Proposal shall be evaluated based on demonstrated and results in performing technical assistance to industrial plants to assist them in the actual implementation of energy efficiency projects identified in energy assessments. The SME shall provide at least three examples of successful technical assistance efforts provided for industrial plants that have led to the plants implementing significant energy cost reduction and productivity improvement projects. The SME shall provide written evidence (without breaching any confidential agreements that they may have with the industrial plants) of the success of the past technical assistance performed – including a description of each technical assistance activity and information on the key implemented energy and cost savings results that resulted from the technical assistance efforts. The SME can also provide industrial plant references who can substantiate the technical assistance results presented.

The SME evaluation process consists of the proposals being reviewed, evaluated and rated using a grading system that assesses the degree of compliance with the technical requirements and the level-of-performance risk. The proposals will be graded against each of the technical evaluation factors based on the following ratings:

1. Red – SME/Proposal fails to meet the performance or capability requirements or provides unacceptable risk to the Company.

2. Yellow – SME/Proposal marginally meets the performance or capability requirements or provides moderate to high risk to the Company.

3. Green – SME/Proposal meets the performance or capability requirements for acceptable subcontract performance and provides low to moderate risk to the Company.

4. Blue – SME/Proposal exceeds the performance or capability requirements, offering superior subcontract performance, and provides little or no risk to the Company.

For each SME proposal, each of the solicitations criteria will be ranked separately using the red/yellow/green/blue criteria. The overall proposal will also be ranked using the red/yellow/green/blue criteria.

Technical and Business Management Proposals

To aid in the evaluation, each SME proposal must be in two separate files – a Technical Proposal and a Business Management Proposal.

Format for the Technical Proposal

One electronic copy of the Technical Proposal must be submitted. The Technical Proposal must not exceed 10 pages, including SME resume, and must be in the following format:

a. Proposal Overview

b. Criteria 1 - Relevant Technical Experience

c. Criteria 2 – Relevant Energy Efficiency Performance Experience

d. Criteria 3 – Relevant Energy Assessment Technical Assistance Experience

Format for the Business Management Proposal

One electronic copy of the Business Proposal must be submitted. The Business Proposal must not exceed 5 pages, including billing rate details, availability in calendar year 2026 specifying number of ASSESSMENTs and hours for SMEA, payment terms, proof of billing rate of the SME for past work done, and must be in the following format:

a. Proposal Overview

b. Billing rate and payment terms

c. Availability in 2026

d. Proof of billing rate