RFI B4C Recovery JAN2020 Revised.docx

SUBJECT: Soldier Protection Hard Armor Ballistic Plate Boron Carbon Recovery and Reclamation – Request for Information Expanded

This Request for Information (RFI) is for market research purposes only. This is not a request for proposal (RFP) to be submitted. It does not constitute a solicitation and shall not be construed as a commitment by the government. Responses in any form are not offers and the government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this technical description is strictly voluntary.

All questions relating to this notice shall be sent via email to Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) point of contact, Marianne Velez at Marianne.e.velez.civ@mail.mil.

Reponses are due February 28th 2020 and are limited to 15 pages, exemption will be consider on a case by case basis.

The Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) in support of Product Manager Soldier Protective Equipment (PM SPE) of the Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060, is seeking information from potential industry partners to support the Army’s effort to recover boron carbon (B4C) from the hard armor ballistic plates used throughout the Department of Defense (DoD).

Background: Currently the DoD sends defective and unserviceable hard armor ballistic plates to the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services for demilitarization (DEMIL) and thus renders those plates to an unusable state. Recovery of raw materials from these DEMIL’d plates could reduce the amount of boron carbon mined and refined. PM SPE wants to develop an understand of industry’s ability to recover B4C from hard armor plates, at a suitable purity level, to potentially reintroduce into manufacturing of new hard armor, repurposing for use in other items, or placing into strategic stockpiles. If this RFI produces and identifies reclamation methodology and sustainable process it may lead to follow-on efforts at the discretion of the US Government.

The purpose of this RFI is to gather information specific to recovering B4C from hard armor ballistic plates by providing the following:

· A feasibility study to ensure there is an actual reasonable, doable, means to reclaim B4C at a purity appropriate for reuse in producing hard armor plates, other ballistic armor items, or for non-ballistic uses.

· A detailed explanation of a process to accomplish this goal. A complete supply chain analysis, a description of the proposed concept, and explanation of the steps taken for a ballistic hard armor plate to a reusable powdered B4C.

· A cost benefit analysis , the cost tradeoff between reclaiming B4C vide mining and processing B4C for ballistic plate production

· The associated manufacturing partnerships necessary to accomplish this effort.

· A cost trade off analysis between of disposal (waste) with reclamation or recycling

· All manufacturing shortfalls associated with meeting this goal and means to meet the shortfalls

· Willingness and, or, partnerships to provide items containing B4C to a third party vendor for processing;

· Rough order of magnitude (ROM) unit price for the recycling B4C (reasonable, scaled, and total volume);

· Business name, address, business size, and point of contact information (name, email and phone number and CAGE code); and

· Business name, address, and business size of all subcontractors or partners and all related CAGE codes

Proprietary information should be clearly marked and will not be disclosed outside the U.S. Government.