NiobiumProcurementSpecV1_Christopher Edwards.docx

Niobium Procurement Specification

September 18, 2026

Illinois Accelerator Research Center

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Niobium Procurement Specification

[Type text] [Type text] [Type text] Document Purpose The purpose of this document is to define the procurement requirements for the niobium lot to be purchased by the Illinois Accelerator Research Center (IARC) at Fermilab. This document outlines quantities of items to be quoted, options for quote, technical requirements, and vendor requirements.

Niobium Cut List and Options Table 1 contains the cut list of Niobium which will be purchased. Table 2 contains options which may be purchased at IARC’s discretion. The vendor is required to quote all items, including the options, to be considered as a potential vendor. The vendor shall quote all items with individual prices per unit, along with the total cost for each group of items, accounting for each item’s quantity.

Table 1: Primary Material List

Technical Requirements The document ED0371037 Rev E. outlines all technical requirements, packaging, acceptance, etc., which are applicable to this procurement of niobium. The vendor shall follow all requirements listed. If the vendor cannot meet any of the listed requirements or testing required, they must reach out to Fermilab to discuss a path forward, if any are available.

Vendor Evaluation Vendors shall either have successful prior experience in providing >300 RRR Niobium to a National Lab of the United States Department of Energy, or Fermilab’s affiliates, at Fermilab’s discretion, for the fabrication of Superconducting Radio Frequency cavities OR shall undergo validation by Fermilab prior to any contract award.

Vendors which resell Niobium need only to verify the source of the niobium meets this requirement, and the requirement does not necessarily apply to them. However, such a vendor must still be able to provide all testing results required of ED0371037 Rev E for the material provided should they be selected as the winning bidder.

For any vendor which needs to be qualified, they shall perform (or have services contracted) the necessary testing outlined in ED0371037 Rev E as part of their bid submission. Specifically, technical requirements and testing of Sections 4 and 5 must be performed, documented, and the results shall be sent to Fermilab for evaluation. The vendor shall also send Fermilab an amount of material sufficient to perform the same tests and validate the vendors’ results. The thickness and size of materials are to be agreed upon by both parties and shall be provided at no cost to Fermilab. The material provided for Fermilab shall be of the same material lot the vendor performed their qualification tests on.

The following documents required for evaluation of materials are provided as part of this request for quote.

· ED0371037 Rev E- Technical Specification for High RRR Grade Niobium Sheet in SRF Cavities

· ED0371109 Rev None – Test Method to Determine RRR of Cavity Grade Niobium

Any vendor not able to complete all the testing required will not be automatically disqualified and should reach out to the Fermilab point of contact for options on how to proceed.

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