RFP Template - For Posting - PR389124.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

RFP No.: PR389124

Request for Proposal

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August 9, 2023

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

1. INTRODUCTION

Date: 08/25/2025 RFP No.: PR389124 RFP Description: Vacuum Gate Valves RFP Closing Date and Time: 09/15/2025 5:00PM EST

Offeror Name:

Offeror Address:

Attention POC:

Cc:

Subject: RFP for the ORNL Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate In Response Refer to: RFP No. PR389124 – Vacuum Gate Valves

Questions: All questions must be submitted in writing to pencegl@ornl.gov no later than 4:00 pm EST 09/05/2024.

ORNL Procurement Officer:

Phone: Genna Pence Email: pencegl@ornl.gov

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is the largest US Department of Energy (DOE) science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security.

ORNL is managed and operated by UT-Battelle, LLC (UT-B). ORNL’s diverse capabilities span a broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines, enabling the Laboratory to explore fundamental science challenges and to carry out the research needed to accelerate the delivery of solutions to the marketplace.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), herein referred to as “Buyer,” is pleased to invite your company, herein referred to as “Offeror,” to submit a proposal in support of the subject effort, as outlined in the attached Statement of Work or Specification and/or Technical Direction attached.

Buyer reserves the right to update this RFP by amendment prior to date of award.

The Offeror’s proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the information provided in this RFP. Specific responses to the Buyer's requirements are necessary to enable the Buyer to evaluate Offeror’s understanding of, and capability to accomplish the stated objectives. Throughout the proposal, the Offeror shall provide sufficient detail to substantiate the validity of all stated claims, comments, or positions. All proposed concepts must be shown to be technically feasible and achievable within the allotted time limitations, and all performance and schedule requirements must be shown to be realistic. The response shall correspond to the requirements of this RFP, unless otherwise specified in writing by the Buyer.

2. RFP INFORMATION

Solicitation Number: PR389124 Offers Due By: 09/15/2025 5:00PM EST mailto:pencegl@ornl.gov

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Offer Validity Period: 120 days NAICS Code: 332911 Industrial Valve Manufacturing - Size Standard 750 employees Subcontract Type Anticipated: Firm Fixed Price Small Business Set-Aside: No Description of Supplies/Services Sought: The Material-Plasma Exposure eXperiment (MPEX), a superconducting magnet, steady-state device, is being built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), herein referred to as “the Company”, to address the harsh conditions inside a fusion reactor. This device, as designed, will have the unique feature of being able to conduct accelerated lifetime tests of plasma-facing components, including those that have experienced neutron damage.

The primary role of the water-cooled gate valve is to provide a leak tight vacuum chamber barrier when plasma is not present and the mating vacuum chambers are separated, remove heat that is gate valve when the plasma is present and the gate valve is open, and provide inlet and outlet ports for cooling water.

Anticipated Subcontract Period of Performance: TBD ORNL Procurement Representative: Genna Pence (pencegl@ornl.gov)

3. LIST OF RFP ATTACHMENTS

Attachment No. Description Document Title (Date/Revision)

Attachment A ORNL Terms and Conditions

Attachment B Prime Contract T&C Flow Downs

UT-Battelle Prime Supplemental Flowdown Document [Additional Terms and Conditions for Subcontracts/Purchase Orders under Prime Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725] (BSD-CS-2258)

Attachment C Statement of Work (SOW) Statement of Work for a Water-Cooled Gate Valve

MPEX-04-SOW-504

Attachment D Representations and Certifications

Representations & Certifications – Abbreviated (BSD- CS-2260, dated 05/18/2023)

Attachment E Product Specification for a Water Cooled Gate Valve (1) MPEX-04-SPC-504

Attachment F MPEX Vacuum Systems Pumping P&ID (2) MPEX-04-DES-00-P007

Attachment G Vacuum Handbook (3) MPEX-00-ENG-002

Attachment H MPEX Knife Edge Appendix VH A2 (4)

Attachment I ASTM Knife Edge Standard (5)

Attachment J Quality Assurance Plan for the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment (6)

MPEX-12-PLAN-001

https://contracts.ornl.gov/terms-and-conditions/ https://contracts.ornl.gov/special-articles-and-forms/ https://contracts.ornl.gov/special-articles-and-forms/ https://contracts.ornl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Reps-and-Certs-Abbreviated-5.18.2023.pdf https://contracts.ornl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Reps-and-Certs-Abbreviated-5.18.2023.pdf

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4. STATEMENT OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS

Statement of Work (SOW) Statement of Work for a Water-Cooled Gate Valve

MPEX-04-SOW-504

Product Specification for a Water Cooled Gate Valve (1) MPEX-04-SPC-504

MPEX Vacuum Systems Pumping P&ID (2) MPEX-04-DES-00-P007

Vacuum Handbook (3) MPEX-00-ENG-002 MPEX Knife Edge Appendix VH A2 (4)

ASTM Knife Edge Standard (5) Quality Assurance Plan for the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment (6)

MPEX-12-PLAN-001

5. PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Preparation of Offers. (a) Offerors are expected to examine the drawings, specifications, descriptions, terms and conditions, and all instructions. Failure to do so will be at the Offeror's risk. (b) Each Offeror shall furnish the information required by the solicitation. The Offeror shall sign the offer. Erasures or other changes must be initialed by the person signing the offer. (c) Unit price for each unit offered shall be shown and such price shall include packing unless otherwise specified. A total price shall be entered for each item offered. In case of discrepancy between a unit price and total price, the unit price will be presumed to be correct. (d) Offeror must state a definite time for delivery of supplies or performance of services unless otherwise specified in the solicitation. Time, if stated as a number of days, will include Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. (e) Offers in strict accordance with the solicitation are desired. Any exceptions should be referenced to related documents by title, page, and paragraph, and should be set forth in detail.

(f) This request does not commit ORNL to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an offer or for any other costs incurred prior to the execution of an Agreement.

Explanation to Prospective Offerors. Any explanation desired by a prospective Offeror regarding the meaning or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specification, etc., must be requested with sufficient time allowed for a reply to reach all prospective Offerors before submission of their offers. Any information given to a prospective Offeror will be furnished to all prospective Offerors if such information is necessary in submitting offers or if the lack of such information would be prejudicial to any other prospective Offerors.

Proposal Format. Offeror is requested to submit their proposal in MS Excel, MS Word, or PDF formats. Proposals must be submitted on the forms furnished by the Buyer. If no form is provided, Offeror may submit their proposal in a format of their choosing.

Contractual / Administrative Authority. No direction to proceed or other instruction to begin work shall be binding upon Buyer except when specifically issued and confirmed in writing by an authorized member of Buyer’s Procurement organization. Offeror’s acceptance of, or reliance upon any direction to proceed or other instruction by Buyer’s technical personnel, or other representatives not specifically authorized to issue formal purchase order commitments, shall be at Offeror’s own risk and shall not constitute a binding purchase commitment upon Buyer.

Acknowledgement of Amendments. Receipt of an amendment to a solicitation must be acknowledged in writing.

Proposal Contact. Any questions regarding any portion of this RFP must be coordinated through the Buyer’s Procurement organization, identified as Buyer’s Contact in the Introduction. No written or verbal correspondence will

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August 9, 2023 be permitted with any other member of the ORNL team without coordination through the Buyer’s Procurement organization. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the Offeror’s disqualification from consideration for award. The Buyer is open to proposal clarification questions/discussions in regard to this RFP via the email address or telephone number provided in the Introduction.

Omissions. It shall be clearly understood that, not-withstanding the detailed requirements contained herein, it is the Offeror’s responsibility to identify and quote any aspect or area which may have been omitted in this RFP and which will nevertheless be necessary to meet the general requirements of the defined effort.

Offeror’s Challenge. In the interest of cost effectiveness, the Offeror is encouraged to challenge specifications and other requirements that, in its judgment, provide little value in consideration of cost. Further, the Offeror is invited to suggest practical performance incentives that may be introduced to the advantage of both Offeror and Buyer.

Proposal Acceptance. Buyer reserves the right to (a) consider proposals or modifications to proposals received after the due date should such action be determined to be in the best interest of Buyer or its customer, and/or (b) make award without written or oral discussion.

Affordability. This effort is in support of the U.S. Government, who has a vital mission and constrained resources, and it is incumbent upon industry to provide our customer with high quality and affordable solutions. ORNL considers this challenge to be a major discriminator in our ability to win and retain business based upon proven performance and demonstrated value to our customers. ORNL has developed a number of initiatives to drive value for our customer and we expect our partners in our supply chain to do the same. It is requested as part of your proposal in response to this RFP that you articulate and demonstrate specifics in your offer that are affordable and meet or exceed all technical and schedule requirements. Your response to these criteria will be an element of the ORNL proposal evaluation and award decision process.

Order of Precedence. Any inconsistencies between sections of this RFP shall be resolved in accordance with the following descending order of precedence: (1) This RFP; (2) UT-B Prime Flow Downs; (3) ORNL Terms and Conditions;

(4) Special Provisions listed within this RFP; (5) Statement of Work/Technical Specifications.

Payment. Payment shall be made by electronic funds transfer. The form for enrolling is available at http://web.ornl/adm/contracts/eft.shtml.

Rights to Technical Data in Successful Proposals. Should an Agreement be awarded based on a proposal, it is policy, in consideration of the award, to obtain unlimited rights for the Government in technical data (but not commercial or financial information) contained in a successful proposal upon which award of an Agreement is based. To exclude technical data contained in a proposal from the Government’s rights, the offer must:

(1) Advise the Buyer that the technical data, or portions thereof that are identified by the Offeror, are covered by the restrictive notice regarding the disclosure and use of proposal information in accordance with the provision of this RFP entitled Treatment of Offer Information and request that such protection be maintained by excluding the data from the Government’s rights; or

(2) Establish to the Buyer’s satisfaction that identified portions of the technical data do not relate directly to or will not be utilized in the work to be performed under the Agreement, and request that such portions be excluded from the Government’s rights.

If unlimited rights to technical data in successful proposals, as set forth in the first paragraph of this section are to be acquired, it shall be by use of the clause below titled, “Rights to Proposal Data (Technical).” Any excluded technical data will be identified by inserting appropriate proposal page numbers in the clause, which clause enables the identification of data to be excluded from the Government’s rights, as discussed in the first http://web.ornl/adm/contracts/eft.shtml

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August 9, 2023 paragraph of this section. Such exclusion is not dispositive of the protective status of the data, but any excluded technical data, as well as any commercial and financial information contained in the proposal, will be used for evaluation purposes only. If there is a need to have access to any of the excluded technical data during contract performance, their acquisition will be as limited rights data, if they so qualify, in accordance with FAR 27.404(d).

Rights to Proposal Data (Technical) Except for data contained on pages _______, it is agreed that as a condition of the award of this subcontract and notwithstanding the conditions of any notice appearing thereon, the Government shall have unlimited rights (as defined in the “Rights in Data – General” clause contained in this subcontract in and to the technical data contained in the proposal dated, _______, upon which this subcontract is based.

Treatment of Offer Information. Offerors that include in their proposals information that they do not want disclosed to the public for any purpose, or used by the Company or the Government except for evaluation purposes, shall:

(a) Mark the title page with the following legend:

This proposal includes information that shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed—in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal. If, however, an Agreement is awarded to this Offeror as a result of—or in connection with—the submission of this information, the Company and the Government shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the information to the extent provided in the resulting Agreement. This restriction does not limit the Company’s and the Government's right to use information contained in this information if it is obtained from another source without restriction. The information subject to this restriction are contained in pages [insert numbers or other identification of pages]; and

(b) Mark each page of information it wishes to restrict with the following legend:

Use or disclosure of information contained on this page is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.

Company Profile. Provide a Company Profile to include business classification (e.g. Large, Small, Disadvantaged).

Signing Authority. Signature of official authorized to contractually commit the Offeror; the names, positions, email address, and phone numbers of persons authorized to negotiate this proposal or persons to be contacted for clarification or questions.

Proposal Validity. Statement that identifies proposal validity. Unless otherwise stated in the Offeror’s proposal, the Offeror’s proposal shall be valid for 120 calendar days.

FOB and Shipping Terms. Identify any FOB and Shipping terms.

Offeror Business Information. Complete business address of the Offeror, the corporate name to be used on any resultant contract, and the remittance address if different from that above. Identify “parent company” or “sponsoring corporation” name, also provide such identity as appropriate.

Subcontract Type. The proposed subcontract type, if other than the anticipated subcontract type located in Attachment A: ORNL Terms and Conditions.

Options. Buyer shall have the option to purchase additional quantities of items or services described in the Statement of Work/Specifications. The Offeror should include any option prices in the appropriate area of the RFP. It should be understood by the Offeror that the Buyer may not exercise any or all options which are not included in the base award. The award may be made by the Buyer for the initial quantity only. It is important

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August 9, 2023 that the foregoing be considered by the Offeror in preparing and submitting separate prices for the initial order quantity and for each individual option. Offers will be evaluated for purposes of award by adding the total price for all option quantities to the total price for the initial quantity. Evaluation of options will not obligate the Buyer to exercise the option(s).

6. COMPETITION

This RFP is being issued on a competitive basis. The Buyer intends to make one award.

Response Due Date. Your response to this request is due on or before 5:00 PM EST on 09/15/2025. All proposal documents shall be sent to the attention of Genna Pence via email at pencegl@ornl.gov.

Access to ORNL Site. Vendor personnel may come onto the ORNL site only if they have a current ORNL badge or a visitor's pass. Persons who need visitors' passes to deliver offers or participate in site visits must provide their e-mail address to the Procurement Officer on a workday at least 24 hours in advance. The Site Administrator will send a link to a secure portal (via-email) where vendor personnel provide the following information: (i) Full name, (ii) employer, (iii) social security number, (iv) date of birth, (v) gender and (vi) country of citizenship. Visitors' passes must be picked up at the Visitor Center, Building 5200. Photo identification is required.

Questions. Questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing, via email, to the ORNL Procurement Officer listed in section 2 of this RFP. Information given to one prospective offeror will be furnished to all prospective offerors if lack of the information would be prejudicial to them.

Withdrawal of Offers. Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before award.

Proposal Package. A complete proposal package consists of the following elements:

Technical Proposal Cost Proposal Exceptions/Non-Compliance Conditions of Proposal / Assumptions Supplementary Requirements

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

The Technical Proposal shall not exceed 25 pages (excluding personnel resumes).

The technical proposal should be specific, detailed, and complete to demonstrate clearly and fully that the Offeror has a thorough understanding of the Buyer’s requirements. The technical proposal must enable the technical evaluators to make a thorough analysis and arrive at a sound determination as to whether or not the proposal meets the Buyer’s requirements. The proposal shall include descriptions sufficient to describe the Offeror’s technical approach. The technical proposal must be sufficient to show how the Offeror proposes to comply with the Buyer’s requirements and it must include a full explanation of the methods proposed. The Offeror shall include a glossary of acronyms and special terminology.

No certified cost or pricing information shall be included in the technical proposal.

The technical proposal must be in the following format:

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Technical Objectives. State the overall objectives and the specific accomplishments you hope to achieve. Indicate the rationale for your plan, and relation to comparable work in progress elsewhere. Review pertinent work already published which is relevant to this project and your proposed approach. This should support the scope of the project as you perceive it.

Technical Approach. Use as many subparagraphs, appropriately titled, as needed to clearly outline the general plan of work. Discuss phasing of research and possible or probable outcome of approaches proposed.

Technical Methods. Describe in detail the methodologies you will use for the project, indicating your level of experience with each, areas of anticipated difficulties, and any unusual expenses you anticipate.

Schedule. Provide a schedule for completion of the work and delivery of items specified in the statement of work.

Performance or delivery schedules shall be indicated for phases or segments, as applicable, as well as for the overall program. Schedules shall be shown in terms of calendar months from the date of authorization to proceed or, where applicable, from the date of a stated event, as for example, receipt of a required approval by the Buyer. Unless the request for proposal indicates that the stipulated schedules are mandatory, they shall be treated as desired or recommended schedules. In this event, proposals based upon the offeror's best alternative schedule, involving no overtime, extra shift or other premium, will be accepted for consideration.

Facilities and Resources. List/describe all facilities and resources available for this project, including any equipment.

Other Considerations. Record and discuss specific factors not included elsewhere which support your proposal. Using specifically titled subparagraphs, items may include:

• Any agreements and/or arrangements with subcontractor(s). Provide as much detail as necessary to explain how the statement of work will be accomplished within this working relationship.

• Unique arrangements which none or very few organizations are likely to have which is advantageous for effective implementation of this project.

• Equipment and unusual operating procedures established to protect personnel from hazards associated with this project.

• Other factors you feel are important and support your proposed research.

• Recommendations for changing reporting requirements or other deliverables if such changes would be more compatible with the offeror's proposed schedules.

COST PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

All proposals shall be submitted in U.S. Dollars (USD). If a standard proposal pricing worksheet/form is provided within this RFP, the Offeror shall submit their pricing via the worksheet/form, otherwise, the Offeror may submit their pricing information in their own format.

This proposal may be subject to a Government price audit.

The cost breakdowns shall identify the following information: direct labor, subcontracts, travel, materials and equipment, other direct costs, indirect expenses, and fee or profit.

Labor. All direct labor by labor category, hours, and fully burdened labor rates. Identify each subcontractor labor category and include a brief job description and minimum education and experience requirements for

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August 9, 2023 each subcontractor labor category proposed. If the period of performance is for more than one year, show the information for each year proposed. Please identify all Key Personnel proposed.

Materials and Equipment. Include a breakdown of each item along with supporting documentation for prices proposed; e.g., quotes from suppliers and/or catalog cut sheets with pertinent pricing.

Other Direct Costs. The Offeror shall submit complete details of how "other direct costs" (ODCs) were derived.

Fee or Profit. The Offeror shall submit a presentation of the details of its proposed profit/fee in the weighted guidelines format as described in DFAR 215.404-71, or use a similar structured approach.

Milestone Payment Plan. The Buyer may consider a proposed payment plan with the Offeror’s response.

Proposed payments must demonstrate significant progress against the schedule incorporated into the subcontract.

Government Approved Rates. If any of the proposed rates and factors have been accepted or approved by a government agency, the Offeror shall so state and identify the agency, its location, and the date of such acceptance or approval and provide a copy of the approval letter.

All Other Costs Proposed. The Offeror shall submit complete details of any other costs not specifically identified or addressed above. The details shall be presented in a manner that will enable a comprehensive and thorough evaluation to be conducted.

EXCEPTIONS/NON-COMPLIANCE:

Exception(s) to or non-compliance with any portion of this RFP shall be clearly identified in a separate Exceptions/Non-Compliance section referencing the specific document, page, paragraph, and item. Exceptions identified in the Offeror’s Technical Proposal need not be restated in this section. You are requested to explain the reason(s) for the non-compliance and identify any alternate solutions to achieve compliance. Any exceptions that are taken to the provisions of this RFP will be considered in evaluating the Offeror’s proposal and may result in your offer being deemed non-responsive. The absence of a proposal section entitled “Exceptions/Non-Compliance” or a statement indicating “no exceptions are taken” implies complete and unequivocal acceptance of all requirements, terms, and conditions.

CONDITIONS OF PROPOSAL/ASSUMPTIONS:

The Offeror shall identify any conditions and/or assumptions of its proposal in a separate Conditions of Proposal/Assumptions section. The Offeror shall include a list of any Buyer/Government equipment and/or information needed as a condition of performance. Offeror shall include its assertion of Limited or Restricted Rights in Data and/or Software.

SUPPLEMENTARY REQUIREMENTS:

Representations and Certifications – Abbreviated. If your proposal exceeds $10,000, Offeror must complete and return a copy of the Representations and Certifications – Abbreviated (BSD-CS-2260) form, a copy of which can be found here: https://contracts.ornl.gov/special-articles-and-forms/.

Certified Cost and Pricing Data. Offerors are not required to submit certified cost or pricing data with their offer; however, such data may be requested by the Buyer prior to award.

https://contracts.ornl.gov/special-articles-and-forms/

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Foreign End Products. The Offeror shall list as foreign end products those end products that are manufactured outside of the United States that do not qualify as domestic end products. List all foreign end products proposed and their country of origin.

Patent Rights. If the Special Provisions section of this RFP includes either the "Exhibit IB, Patent Rights – Acquisition by the Government" or the "Exhibit 1C, Patent Rights - Retention by the Seller (Short Form)" clause, and you have requested an advance waiver of patent rights, Offeror shall submit a copy of the form (attachments are not necessary) that you submitted to the DOE Patent Counsel. (See the form entitled "Exhibit 2B - Petition for Advance Waiver of Patent Rights" found here: https://contracts.ornl.gov/exhibits/.)

7. BASIS OF AWARD

Basis of Award – Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA). An award resulting from this solicitation will be made to the responsible offeror submitting the lowest-priced offer that meets all specified requirements. Offers will be evaluated for technical acceptability under each of the factors listed below. An offer that is evaluated as unacceptable under any factor will not be considered for award. In your proposal, please clearly document how your offer meets or exceeds the below listed acceptability factors. Note and explain any deviation from the specifications. Make specific written response to items that cannot be met as specified in the specifications.

Technical Acceptability Factors:

1. Provide the requested services per SOW/ Specification (Attachment #) with no exceptions.

2. Proposal shall meet lead time/delivery date of (LEAD TIME/DATE) After Receipt of Order (ARO).

8. SPECIAL PROVISIONS

Quality Requirements: As noted in the Statement of Work and Specifications.

9. PAYMENT TERMS

Payment terms are Net 30 days upon final acceptance of the product/service. All payments will be made in U.S. Dollars (USD). Payment shall be made by electronic funds transfer.

10. CLOSING

Should additional information be required on any of these requests please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned Procurement Officer below.

Sincerely, Genna Pence Phone: (865)341-4644 Email: pencegl@ornl.gov https://contracts.ornl.gov/exhibits/