Redacted JOFOC 80JSC021P0019.pdf

Rev.:10/2020

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Johnson Space Center

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

(JOFOC)

For 80JSC021Q0003/Lithium-Ion High Power Cell Design)

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) Johnson Space Center:

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

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 to E-one Moli Energy (Canada) Limited for a large lot (60,000 each) of their high power Li-ion cell design, model # INR18650-P28B.

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):

NASA seeks to purchase 1 lot (60,000 each), $259,200.00 to include shipping, high power Lithium-ion cells from a single day’s or two consecutive days’ production by E-one Moli Energy (Canada) Limited. The cell design is model INR18650-P28B in the industry standard format designated at 18650. The manufacturer is responsible for shipping to JSC and providing chain of custody evidence that cells were fabricated by E-one Moli Energy.

Since cells are qualified as a lot through our lot acceptance testing process that costs about $1 million to complete, it’s critical that all cells be of the same lot. NASA’s definition of lot is all cells are made within one day. Receiving 60,000 cells from multiple date codes is cost prohibitive and not acceptable.

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 for acquisitions using the procedures in FAR subpart 13.5 is 41 U.S.C. 1901.

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)(1) are described below.

NASA’s strategic reserve of commercial Lithium-ion high power cells seeks 1 large lot (60,000 each) of commercially available Lithium-ion cell designs. The lot requires high power cell designs that exceed 2500 W/kg in specific power and 6300 W/L in power density. In addition, the high power cell design must also exceed 200 Wh/kg and 500 Wh/L and on average generate under 6% waste heat while discharging at 9.6A continuously.

These are performance requirements for the Lithium-ion cell design for enabling the required high performance battery designs for NASA missions, such Human Lander Systems, Orion, and others. For a safety perspective, the cell manufacturer must be capable of manufacturing thermal runaway trigger cells in a small batch of the exact same design as the unmodified cells purchased. These trigger cells are made by implanting a small internal short circuit device invented by NASA & National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) that induces an ondemand hard internal short circuit when the cell is heated above 57⁰C.

Selecting a manufacturer capable and willing to make these trigger cells is critical to enable safety verification of battery design utilizing these cell designs.

The INR18650-P28B cell design that is proprietary to E-one Moli Energy (Moli) is the only manufacturer that meets or exceeds all the above requirements. This cell design was verified by a third party contracted by NASA to achieve 2529 W/kg and 6378 W/L and 207 Wh/kg and 521 Wh/L. Average waste heat was determined to be under 6% which enabled the P28B design to discharge continuously at 30A without overheating past the safety limit of 70⁰C after starting at room temperature.

The third-party testing that determined the performance and safety characteristics of the INR18650-P28B was performed and completed in Nov-Dec of 2020 and also tested 11 competing commercial cell designs. Test results indicate that none was able to meet all the performance and heat generation requirements except for the P28B design. Furthermore, Moli has demonstrated excellent performance in executing and delivering production of custom made trigger cells with the NASA/NREL device.

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 request for information (RFI) notice to the Government Point of Entry (GPE) website

(beta.sam.gov) was published on January 13, 2021, in accordance with FAR Subpart 5.2.

This posting informed potential sources of NASA’s intent to award this sole-source contract to E-One Moli Energy. The results of this synopsis are summarized in Section 10 below.

The COR conducted market research for this requirement. The COR tested twelve high power cell designs in December 2020. The manufacturers tested included LG, Molicel, Murata, and Samsung. The results of the testing concluded that only one vendor could provide the Government’s minimum specifications of specific energy > 200 Wh/kg, energy density > 500 Wh/L, specific power > 2500 W/kg, power density > 6300 W/L, and waste heat < 6%. That manufacturer was Molicel and the product that met or exceeded the minimum requirements was the Molicel INR1850-P28B model.

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 cost of $4.25 per cell is very fair and reasonable for such a unique and high performing cell design. Commercial 18650 Li-ion cell designs are commodity products whose cost fluctuate with market forces from $3 to $10 a cell. Past contracts for 18650 Li-ion cells include NNJ16HD68P ($3.5/cell), NNJ17HD02P ($6.75/cell), 80NSSC19P2255 ($8.1/cell), 80NSSSC20P1624 ($7.8/cell), and 80NSSC20P0344 ($6.98/cell). The cost of $4200 for shipping 60,000 cells on 5 shipping palates is also very reasonable and fair.

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:

During quarter 4 of calendar year 2020, NASA contracted with Symmetry Resources to independently determine by tests which of 12 commercially available cell designs (all following the 18650 cylindrical formats (18mm diameter, 65mm tall)) meet the performance requirements stated herein. Four cell design models each from LG Chem, Moli, Murata, and Samsung were tested under contract 80NSSC21P0379. The Moli cell design INR18650P28B was determined to be the only cell design meeting all the NASA requirements.

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

For NASA to invent and develop an equivalent cell design to the INR18650-P28B is estimated at costing over $10 million and taking at least 5 years to achieve.

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 (beta.sam.gov) per FAR Subpart 5.2 (See Section 6 above).

In addition, a RFI was posted to Beta.Sam.Gov on January 13, 2021 and closed out on January 25, 2021. The results of the RFI yielded no viable options other than those proposed by COR. There were two interested parties who expressed interest in the lithiumion cell design requirement. However, both parties did not meet NASA’s needs with the correct cell design (high energy vs high power) and production capabilities (60,000 each vs 500/week). Therefore, based upon market research the Molicel model INR18650-P28B was the only high power cell design which will meet the Government’s needs.

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:

JSC will repeat the independent third party testing with the latest commercially available Li-ion 18650 cell designs every 2 years to determine if new cell designs exist that meet or exceed the NASA performance and safety requirements. These tests will include designs from at least 3 other manufacturers. 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.