SSJ for Award Notice.pdf

ERDC Control No. 20-1863

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: Engineer Research and Development Center – Construction and Engineering Research Laboratory (EDRC – CERL)

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-On Requirement Mod to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Time and Materials

Funds: OMA Other Funds:__Civil Works Funds_____

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

a. The total estimated dollar value of the proposed action is $412,209.

b. The Government has a requirement for a Mobile Floating Contaminant Separation

System (MFCSS) that can be integrated with an existing Algal Biomass Destruction and Transformation System. The MFCSS shall consist of five separate watercraft.

4. Authority: FAR 13.501(a)

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The Mobile Floating Contaminant Separation System (MFCSS) from Elastec Inc. is a deployable system that can intercept and concentrate algae from large natural water bodies. The MFCSS has a minimal size, water displacement, and energy consumption for harvesting and concentrating more than 0.5 million gallons per day of algae-laden water in a shipboard system. It includes proprietary boom vanes that can be deployed from boats or shorelines to focus algae-laden water towards the process intake. In addition, the MFCSS will meet the algae feed concentration and volume requirements for an existing hydrothermal liquefaction system that is currently being studied by ERDC for destruction and transformation of harmful algal bloom biomass.

Finally, the MFCSS is a commercially-available item that with minor modifications offers the following technical specifications, which are not available through any other vendor’s products:

Watercraft with square bow and v-hull to allow increased maneuverability and large footprint and payload (110 sf of work space per watercraft, > 3800 lbs of payload capacity while maintaining 2 feet of freeboard, and watercraft length less than or equal to 24 feet, with width less than 8.5 feet.

Floating two-stage skimming and de-watering system with an influent processing rate of 500 gallons per minute, targeted to the top 1 inch of the water column, with an ability to concentrate floating particulate contaminants such as microalgae to at least 150,000 mg/L (15% by mass), which is required for compatibility with hydrothermal liquefaction.

6. Actions to Increase Competition: A notice of intent to sole source was posted on beta.SAM from March 5, 2020 through March 12, 2020 and no responses were received.

7. Market Research:

(1) The Government has made a determination that no other source offers a product which meets or can be modified to meet this requirement. The Elastec Inc. MFCSS is the only unit that meets all of the specifications required by the research program. The most similar products on the market, which do not meet the program requirements because they are land-based designs, not floating shipboard systems, are the Smart Algae Harvester A120 from OriginOil, and the Zobi Harvester from Global Algae Innovations.

Shipboard harvesting systems such as the Weedoo Aquaharvester and New Earth algae harvesters are designed for removal of weeds and large macroalgae plants, and they are not capable of removing microalgae or small particulate contaminants. Market research conducted determined that the MFCSS is the only equipment that meets the needed specifications; therefore, substitution is undesirable. Pricing for the IGCE was obtained from talking to a company representative and through online market research.

(2) Market research was conducted in February 2020.

8. Procurement History:

Previous Purchase Orders(s) or Contract(s): Yes No

Purchase order or contract number:_______________ Was action competed? Yes No If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale:______________________________________________________________________

9. Additional information to support the justification: The Elastec Inc. MFCSS is typically used for oil spill mitigation but with minor customized modifications can be used for algae harvesting

10. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which is included in the abbreviated J&A is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Submitted By:

Position Title:

Email Address:

Signature:

Date:

11. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination: As Contracting Officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

Basis for the determination: price analysis techniques.

12. Contracting Officer’s Approval:

I hereby certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Based on the foregoing, I approve this sole source justification subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition

Signature:______________ Typed Name:

Title:

Date: