Custom R&D Industrial Furnace

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), under the Department of Energy Office of Science, seeks a supplier to design, fabricate, deliver, install, and commission a custom R&D industrial furnace for testing fuel-flexible burners, with quotations due November 12, 2026. No set-aside is used. Award is Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA), with technical acceptability evaluated on a pass/fail basis and award made to the lowest-priced responsible offeror that passes. NAICS is 333994 and PSC is 4430.

The supplier performs all design, fabrication, and assembly at its own facility and delivers FOB Destination to Building 362, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439. A supplier representative must then perform on-site commissioning. Work may not begin on site until the Argonne Procurement Representative, Molly Hunter, issues a Notice to Proceed.

The furnace must support direct-fired and indirect-fired burner configurations on natural gas and hydrogen blends from 0 to 100% H2. It must fire at a maximum continuous rate of 5 MMBtu/hr (1.5 MW) with a 20:1 turndown ratio, reach a maximum bulk temperature of 2400F, and use refractory rated to 2800F. The combustion chamber is approximately 300 to 400 cubic feet. The design includes 14 high-temperature windows, 2 angled windows, and 70 threaded instrumentation ports. Commissioning requires at least two hours of operation on a natural gas direct-fired burner at firing rates not exceeding 5 MMBtu/hr. Acceptance depends on successful commissioning and delivery of design drawings, as-built documentation, O&M manuals, commissioning reports, and material and compliance certifications. The supplier must hold biweekly design meetings with ANL and obtain written ANL approval before fabrication begins.

Performance is anticipated at approximately six months from award, targeted for January 2027, through commissioning and closeout by June 2027.

On-site work falls under the ANL-366H high-risk supplemental conditions. Requirements include general liability insurance of $2 million per occurrence, automobile liability of $1 million combined single limit, and statutory workers compensation, with ANL, UChicago Argonne, LLC, The University of Chicago, and the U.S. Government named as additional insureds. The contractor must submit a Job Safety Analysis before on-site work and comply with ES&H requirements under 10 CFR 851.

Offerors must submit a completed ANL-70 Request for Quotation, a completed ANL-70B Representations and Certifications, a technical compliance response with supporting evidence for each Statement of Work requirement, country-of-origin information under FAR 52.225-1, lead time and milestones from purchase order through delivery, and any exceptions or deviations. The RFQ states the Buy American requirement is 65% domestic content for items delivered in 2024 through 2028. Pricing is firm, FOB Destination, with net 30-day terms. The quotation must incorporate ANL-71-COM terms and conditions, the Statement of Work dated October 12, 2026, and the ANL 562IP intellectual property provisions.