Request for Quote (RFQ) No. 2025025165 - Autonomous Sputtering Tool - Main Chamber.pdf

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 1 of 9

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Managed and Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

Request for Quote (RFQ) No. 2025025165

“Autonomous Sputtering Tool – Main Chamber”

REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQ)

READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY

This solicitation is being conducted under the procedures for competitive purchases established by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL will award a Purchase Order based on the following:

BEST VALUE SELECTION

All Technical Specifications requirements being met with the best combination of:

• Technical factors (based on qualitative merit criteria), and

• Evaluated price (or cost)

Issue Date: 6/3/2025 Due Date: 7/3/2025 Time Due: 5 PM Mountain Time

Technical questions must be received in writing no later than 6/23/2025

Written questions concerning this solicitation document and its requirements will be answered in writing.

In response to technical questions, NREL will issue an amendment to this solicitation document that will formally provide all the questions and answers. All recipients of the solicitation document will receive responses to questions.

NAICS CODE

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this solicitation is:

Code Classification Size Standard 334519 Manufacturing SBA

Amounts shown in the table above represent the corresponding small business size standard for each NAICS. Dollar amounts are reflective of total annual receipts. (“Annual receipts” of a concern means the annual average gross revenue for the last three fiscal years.)

There is no weighting applied to any one small business subcategory, or any combination of subcategories applicable to a business entity. The subcategories are provided only for determining the eligibility of offerors.

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1. Solicitation Type Best Value Selection Purchase Order

SUBMIT OFFERS TO AND REQUEST INFORMATION FROM THE NREL RFP CONTACT

BELOW

2. NREL RFP Contact LuAnn Lindsay, Subcontract Administrator

National Renewable Energy Laboratory 15013 Denver West Parkway, MS: RSF030 Golden, CO 80401 Email: LuAnn.Lindsay@nrel.gov

Electronic copies of forms and appendices can be found at:

http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html

Procurement Forms | NREL

3. Project description:

The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC has entered into Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 with the Department of Energy (DOE), an agency of the U.S. Government, for the management and operation of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (hereinafter called “NREL”). All references to “NREL” in this solicitation shall mean the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

As specified in the Technical Specifications – Attachment No. 1 titled “Autonomous Sputtering Tool – Main Chamber”, dated June 2, 2025. It is the intent of NREL to award one (1) Purchase Order under this solicitation. The objective of this purchase is to enable Autonomous Experimentation (AE) synthesis of nitride and oxide materials to support the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC), as part of an autonomous semiconductor development facility at NREL.

4. Delivery Expectation: The goal is that the Main plasma deposition chamber is fully installed at

NREL and user operational” by Jan 1, 2027. The chamber needs to be delivered to NREL by September 30, 2026. Please include the lead-time in your proposal.

5. Mandatory Qualifications:

To be considered a ‘responsive offeror’ the following minimum criteria must be met. These criteria are not evaluated but are instead ‘pass/fail’ criteria. NREL reserves the right to ask clarifying questions of the offerors as necessary in determining responsiveness to this RFP. Offerors’ proposals that do not meet the mandatory qualifications will not be evaluated or considered further for award under this solicitation.

Qualification # Qualification Submission Requirement

4.1 Vacuum chambers Must meet all specifications established in section

4.1.1 (Required) of the technical specifications document

4.2 Substrate Must meet all specifications established in section

4.2.1 (Required) of the technical specifications document mailto:LuAnn.Lindsay@nrel.gov https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 3 of 9

4.3 Sources Must meet all specifications established in section

4.3.1 (Required) of the technical specifications document

4.4 Robotics integration Must meet all specifications established in section

4.4 of the technical specifications document.

4.5 In-situ instrumentation

and ports

Must meet all specifications established in sections

4.5.1.1 – Plasma characterization, 4.5.2.1 – Film and process monitoring and 4.5.3.1 – Ports, of the technical specifications document.

4.6 Software and control Must meet all specifications established in section

4.6.1 of the technical specifications document.

4.7 Electronics, acceptance

and safety

Must meet all specifications established in section

4.7 of the technical specifications document.

6. Award Consideration: Best Value Selection

This solicitation shall be conducted using Best Value Selection that results in an award that is most advantageous to NREL based on the best value combination of (a) evaluated qualitative merit and

(b) evaluated price (cost) of the offers submitted.

Best Value Selection is based on the premise that, if all offers are of approximately equal qualitative merit, award will be made to the offeror with the lowest evaluated price. However, NREL will consider awarding an offeror with a higher evaluated price if the offer demonstrates the difference in price is commensurate with the higher qualitative merit. Conversely, NREL will consider awarding an offeror with a lower evaluated qualitative merit if the price (cost) differential between it and other offers warrant doing so.

7. Qualitative merit criteria for Best Value Selection

For offerors that meet the mandatory qualifications stated above, NREL will evaluate submitted proposals using the qualitative merit criteria stated below to determine which offer(s) represent(s) the best value to NREL. The qualitative merit criteria provided below establish what NREL considers the technical factors valuable in an offer.

The Technical Specifications (Attachment 1) in this RFQ serves as NREL’s baseline requirements that must be met by each offer.

The qualitative merit criteria establish what NREL considers the technical factors valuable in an offer. These qualitative merit criteria are performance-based and permit the selection of a higher priced offer that provides higher qualitative merit.

The following qualitative merit criteria will be used to determine the technical value of the offer in meeting the objectives of the solicitation. Sub criteria, if listed, are not individually weighted, but are factors in the overall weighting.

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 4 of 9

Each qualitative merit criterion and its assigned weight are listed below:

Criterion # Criterion Assigned Weight

Description

5.1 Strongly preferred technical

specifications

40%

Compliance with the strongly preferred specifications of section 4. Capabilities of the technical specifications document.

Proposals meeting the most specifications established in this section will be scored highest.

5.2 Preferred technical

specifications

20%

Compliance with the preferred specifications of section 4. Capabilities of the technical specifications document.

Proposals meeting the most specifications established in this section will be scored highest.

5.3 Service and responsiveness

10%

Degree to which routine and specialized repairs can be performed by NREL personnel versus requiring vendor field-service engineers. Consideration will be given to the average support ticket resolution times for similar systems and any testimonials regarding post-purchase support. Emphasis is placed on coordination with the robotic arm vendor to ensure smooth integration with the external sample-handling system.

5.4 Demonstration

10%

Ability to demonstrate all proposed chamber functionalities (particularly sample handling, software control, and robotics integration) as part of the proposal. This Demonstration can be virtual, or Technical Monitor can travel to your location. The scoring for this is qualitative.

5.5 Reference letters

10%

Testimonials or references from other customers who have purchased and used similar systems. Letters demonstrate chambers most similar to those being requested by NREL, chambers with the most ease-of-use/-maintenance, adaptability, and quality of service will score higher.

5.6 Quantitative checklist for

chamber acceptance 10% Checklist of acceptance criteria that demonstrate proper chamber functionality.

100% Total of Merit Criteria

Demonstration Expectations: NREL will evaluate and determine if the offeror will be selected to perform the Demonstration. If not selected, the offeror will be notified that the proposal has not been chosen to proceed with the next phase of the evaluation process. If selected, the offeror shall provide a Demonstration of the offerors’ proposed solution. An in-person Demonstration (i.e., visit to the vendor’s facility) is preferred, but a Demonstration may also occur over video call.

The NREL Subcontract Administrator will reach out with dates and times for the Demonstration.

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8. Price (cost) evaluation for Best Value Selection

After evaluation of the qualitative merit criteria, the following price evaluation will be used to determine the best value of the offer in meeting the objectives of the solicitation.

The combined qualitative merit value will be considered substantially more important than the price

(cost).

Offer should note that NREL will evaluate Offers in accordance with the policies and procedures of Part 25 of the FAR. In accordance with the Buy American Act, preference will be given to domestic offers, and foreign offers will be adjusted for evaluation purposes in accordance with FAR 25.106 and Subpart 25.5 (as such terms are defined in FAR 25.003).

9. Evaluation process

NREL will evaluate offers in two general steps:

Step One—Initial Evaluation An initial evaluation will be conducted to determine if all required information has been provided for an acceptable offer. Offerors may be contacted only for clarification purposes during the initial evaluation. Offerors shall be notified if their offer is determined unacceptable and the reasons for rejection will be provided. Unacceptable offers will be excluded from further consideration.

Step Two—Discussion, Selection, Negotiation, and Award All acceptable offers will be evaluated against the Attachment No. 1 – Technical Specifications and the qualitative merit criteria listed above. Based on this evaluation, and taking into consideration the proposed price (cost), NREL has the option, depending on the specific circumstances of the offers received, to use one of the following methods of selection:

(a) make individual selection(s), conduct negotiations, and make an award(s);

(b) conduct parallel negotiations with all offerors and make award(s);

(c) conduct discussions with all offerors, select successful finalists, conduct parallel negotiations with successful finalists, and then make award(s);

(d) conduct discussions with all offerors, conduct parallel negotiations with the finalists, select successful finalist(s), and then make award(s);

(e) select successful finalists, conduct successive negotiations, and make successive selections and awards;

(f) make no award(s).

10. Submission Requirements: All interested Offerors must submit a quote that shall include the following:

a. The responsive quote will be based on Attachment No. 1 - Technical Specifications. The quote must be valid for 180 days from the date of the offer.

b. Letter indicating acceptance of Attachment No. 1 – Technical Specifications and NREL standard terms and conditions , Appendix B-8, Standard Terms and Conditions for Subcontracts and Purchase Orders for Commercial Items, dated 1/23/2023, found at: https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html will be applicable to https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 6 of 9 the purchase order. State any changes with reason to the terms and conditions. The letter shall include a statement declaring whether the product being delivered is a domestic end product (as such term in defined in FAR 25.003.

c. Technical Proposal directed toward meeting the requirements of NREL Technical Specifications and qualitative merit (see section 7 above). The technical proposal shall be organized in the following sections:

Section No. Description 1 – Vacuum chambers

The proposal should demonstrate or describe how the required, strongly preferred and preferred capabilities regarding the vacuum chambers are met.

Refer to sections 4.1.1-4.1.3 of the technical specifications document.

2 - Substrate The proposal should demonstrate or describe how the required, strongly preferred and preferred capabilities regarding the substrate-related equipment are met. Refer to sections 4.2.1-4.2.3 of the technical specifications document.

3 - Sources The proposal should demonstrate or describe how the required, strongly preferred and preferred capabilities regarding the sputtering sources and related equipment are met. Refer to sections 4.3.1-4.3.3 of the technical specifications document.

4 – Robotics integration

Proposal should demonstrate or describe how an external, off-the-shelf, robotic arm can retrieve and deliver samples to the chamber transfer/load-lock chamber. Drawings and pictures of suggested end-of-arm tools can be included. Refer to section 4.4 of the technical specifications document.

5 – In-situ instrumentation and ports

The proposal should demonstrate or describe how the required, strongly preferred and preferred capabilities regarding doors, flanges, in-situ instrumentation and related equipment are met. Refer to sections 4.5.1-4.5.3 of the technical specifications document.

6 – Software and control

The proposal should demonstrate or describe how the required, strongly preferred and preferred capabilities regarding chamber software and control are met. Refer to sections 4.6.1-4.6.3 of the technical specifications document.

7 – Electronics, acceptance and safety

The proposal should demonstrate or describe how the electronics, acceptance and safety requirements described in section 4.7 of the technical specifications document are met.

8 – Reference letters and testimonials

Reference letters and testimonials from other customers who have purchased and used similar systems must be provided with proposals, reporting degree to which routine and specialized repairs can be performed by the customer personnel versus requiring vendor field-service engineers. Reference letters from partners supporting ability to integrate with third-party institutions/vendors are encouraged.

9 – Deliverables timetable

Detailed timetable of the entire system building and expected delivery dates.

10 – Acceptance tests

Propose tests that will be carried out upon delivery to demonstrate that all capabilities are working as expected.

Each section shall be a maximum of 5 pages which includes all text, graphics, charts, attachments, appendices, addendums, indices, exhibits, etc. (resumes and proposed changes to the Statement of Work are not included in page count) and the total technical proposal shall not exceed 50 pages. In the event that the page limit is exceeded, NREL at its sole discretion, reserves the right to remove pages from the sections of any non-conforming submittals to bring each non-conforming submittal within the page count requirement.

d. The submitted offers shall not contain any Restricted Intellectual Property or the Development of any Intellectual Property.

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e. Completed and signed Representations and Certifications for Commercial Items and Services – Subcontracts/Purchase Orders (see link above).

f. Confirmation of your Company’s Registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). NREL requires all vendors to be registered under SAM at www.SAM.gov.

g. NREL is required to obtain price justification. Price justification can be a copy of a published price list that supports all costs of the system. If you do not have a published price list that shows the price/cost, please provide copies of other customers’ invoices (minimum 3) for the same or similar item(s). For confidential reasons, you can omit the names and addresses of the other customers’ invoices. Please note that all price/cost must be supported with backup documentation.

As a federal government contractor, NREL is obligated to request all applicable discounts available. If GSA pricing is available, please provide your GSA Schedule. Please identify discounts offered to NREL in your quote.

g. This solicitation requires the submittal of electronic proposals.

h. This solicitation does not commit NREL to pay costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP.

“Notice for Handling Proposals:

This proposal shall be used and disclosed for Alliance/NREL and Government evaluation purposes only. Any authorized restrictive notices which the Offeror places on this proposal shall also be strictly complied with. Disclosure of this proposal outside the Government, Alliance/NREL, Alliance/NREL consultants, or other national laboratories personnel for evaluation purposes shall be made only to the extent authorized by, and in accordance with, the procedures in DEAR 915.207-70 and, as applicable stated in the procurement solicitation document for source evaluation and selection process.

Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator shall certify in writing to the Source Evaluation Team Chairperson that all copies of this proposal have been destroyed and/or deleted from any electronic device, medium or storage location with the exception of those retained in the procurement file or in the case of successful offeror(s) in the project management file.”

11. Solicitation Provisions—full text provided

a. Late submissions, modifications, and withdrawals of offers

Offers, or modifications to them, received from qualified organizations after the latest date specified for receipt may be considered if received prior to award, and NREL determines that there is a potential price (cost), technical, or other advantage, as compared to the other offers received. However, depending on the circumstances surrounding the late submission or modification, NREL may consider a late offer to be an indication of the offeror’s http://www.sam.gov/

Reference Guide II-009, Exhibit A (Rev. 09/2020) Page 8 of 9 performance capabilities, resulting in downgrading of the offer in the technical evaluation process. Offers may be withdrawn by written notice received at any time before the award.

b. Disclaimer

NEITHER THE UNITED STATES; NOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY; NOR

ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC; NOR ANY OF THEIR

CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, OR THEIR EMPLOYEES MAKE ANY

WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ASSUME ANY LEGAL LIABILITY OR

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS FOR

ANY PURPOSE OF ANY OF THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR DATA

ATTACHED OR OTHERWISE PROVIDED HEREIN AS REFERENCE MATERIAL.

c. Solicitation disputes

The General Accountability Office and the Department of Energy do not accept or rule on disputes for solicitations for Requests for Proposals issued by Management and Operating Contractors for the Department of Energy (operators of Department of Energy National Laboratories). Should an offeror have any concerns regarding the NREL solicitation process or selection determination, the offeror may contact Paul White, Advocate for Commercial Practices, at (303) 384-7575. NREL will address each concern received from an offeror on an individual basis.

d. Prohibition on use of certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment per the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act Section 889(a)(1)(B)

In accordance with the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act Section

889(a)(1)(B), NREL is prohibited from contracting with any offeror that uses, and/or whose lower-tier subcontractor(s) use, covered telecommunication equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology of any system, on or after 08/13/2020, unless an exception applies or a waiver is granted. This includes such equipment or services from five Chinese companies: Huawei, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision, and Dahua Technology.

e. Compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (found at 29 U.S.C. 794d)

The requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act apply to NREL’s procurement of all electronic and information technology (EIT) and any development, maintenance, or use of

EIT.

12. Solicitation provisions

The following solicitation documents are attached:

▪ Attachment 1, Technical Specifications “Autonomous Sputtering Tool – Main Chamber”

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13. Solicitation provisions—incorporated by reference—general access

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. The following documents can be downloaded from http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/standard-terms.html and http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html or the NREL Subcontract Administrator (see item 2) will make available upon request.

The documents and forms that are listed below are applicable to this solicitation and resulting award:

Appendix/Form

NREL Standard Terms and Conditions: Appendix B-8 (1/23/2023);

NREL Representations and Certifications SAM for Commercial Items and

Services (Purchase Orders) for Subcontracts and Purchase Orders for Commercial Items and Services;

Please email your proposal to me by 7/3/2025 by 5:00 pm mountain time to the following email address:

LuAnn.Lindsay@nrel.gov. As stated above, technical questions are due by 6/23/2025.

Sincerely, LuAnn Lindsay Subcontract Administrator, Simplified Acquisition Team NREL Acquisition Services

Attachments:

Attachment 1, Technical Specifications “Autonomous Sputtering Tool – Main Chamber http://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/forms.html mailto:LuAnn.Lindsay@nrel.gov

SUBMIT OFFERS TO AND REQUEST INFORMATION FROM THE NREL RFP CONTACT BELOW