Lithium-Ion High Power Cell Design Batteries

THIS NOTICE CONSTITUTES AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE RFI FOR Lithium-Ion High Power Cell Design Batteries which

was posted on January 13,2021. You are notified that the following changes are made:

Question 1: Cell format: Is there a preference for cylindrical or prismatic form factors?

Answer 1: Cylindrical

Question 2: Cell size: Is there a maximum acceptable cell size?

Answer 2: 18650 for this procurement

Question 3: Duration for the pulse power: for the 2.5 kW/kg, is there a specified pulse duration?

Answer 3:  5 seconds

Question 4: Operating / storage temperature requirements? : Are there any minimum and maximum operating temperature requirements?

Answer 4:   Operating from 0 to 45⁰C and storage from -20C to 30⁰C

Question 5. The opportunity description says that NASA seeks four large lots of Li-ion cells. How many cells constitute a “large lot”?

Answer 5:  20,000 to 70,000

Question 6: The opportunity calls out specific criteria for cell specific energy (Wh/kg), energy density (Wh/L), specific power (W/kg), and power density (W/L). However, is there a min/max capacity (Ah) or capacity range acceptable for the desired cells?

Answer 6: 2.0Ah min

Question 7: Is there a desired cell format? Pouch? Prismatic? Cylindrical (e.g. 18650)?

Answer 7: Yes, 18650

Question 8:  What is the desired delivery lead time for the cells?

Answer 8:   3 months

If your organization has the potential capacity to perform some or all the contract services submit an offer to: Bermuda Brittingham at bermuda.a.brittingham@nasa.gov and Jerry G. Meeks Jr. at jerry.g.meeks@nasa.gov, no later than January 25, 2021 at 4PM CST. When responding reference 80JSC021Q0003, Lithium-Ion High Power.

This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and there is no solicitation at this time. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals and submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. The government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred and the respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in beta.SAM.gov. It is the potential offeror’s responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis.

This notice is issued by the NASA Johnson Space Center to post a request for information (RFI) via the internet, and solicit responses from interested parties. This document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition. Prospective offerors are invited to submit written comments or questions to: Bermuda Brittingham at bermuda.a.brittingham@nasa.gov and Jerry G. Meeks Jr. at jerry.g.meeks@nasa.gov, no later than January 20, 2021 at 4PM CST. When responding reference 80JSC021Q0003, Lithium-Ion High Power Cell Design Batteries.

The Government specifically requests comments relative to the following areas:

• General Capabilities Statements

• Specific Capabilities as related to the specifications below

• Potential solutions to technical requirements

NASA’s strategic reserve of commercial Li-ion cells seeks 4 large lots of commercially available Li-ion cell designs. Two of the lots require high energy cell design that exceeds 250 Wh/kg in specific energy and 700 Wh/L in energy density. The other two lots require high power cell designs that exceed 2500 W/kg in specific power and 6300 Wh/L in power density. However, both high power cell design must also exceed 200 Wh/kg and 500 Wh/L and on average generate under 6% waste heat while discharging at 9.6A continuously. These are performance requirements for the Li-ion cell design for enabling the required high performance battery designs for NASA missions, such Human Lander Systems, Orion, and others. For a safety perspective, the cell manufacturer must be capable of manufacturing thermal runaway trigger cells in a small batch of the exact same design as the unmodified cells purchased. These trigger cells are made by implanting a small internal short circuit device invented by NASA & National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that induces an on-demand hard internal short circuit when the cell is heated above 57⁰C. Selecting a manufacturer capable and willing to made these trigger cells is critical to enable safety verification of battery design utilizing these cell designs.

Do not submit any proprietary data in response to the RFI. Information with proprietary markings will not be read or considered. This RFI does not obligate the Government to issue a solicitation in the future. Any future solicitation based on the requirements described in this synopsis will be published in beta.sam.gov.

This pre-solicitation synopsis is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response. Respondents will not be notified of the results.

NASA Clause 1852.215-84, Ombudsman, is applicable. The Center Ombudsman for this acquisition can be found at

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/regs/Procurement-Ombuds-Comp-Advocate-Listing.pdf .

The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available over the Internet. These documents will reside on a World Wide Web (WWW) server, which may be accessed using a WWW browser application. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the Internet site for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). Potential offerors will be responsible for downloading their own copy of the solicitation and amendments, if any.