National Laboratory of the Rockies Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE

National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), a Department of Energy facility in Golden, Colorado, anticipates issuing a Request for Proposal in January 2027 for the ESIF-HPC-4 high-performance computing system, to be installed at its Energy Systems Integration Facility. The notice lists the Department of Energy Office of Science as the agency and uses no set-aside. It is issued for planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation.

NLR is procuring on behalf of the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), which the system would serve for applied energy research, technology validation, and deployment through the 2028-2032 timeframe. NLR seeks a GPU-based system with workload throughput at least 2X greater than its current Kestrel system, integrated performance and capacity storage tiers, a high-speed interconnect, options to expand capacity, and compatibility with the ESIF data center's energy efficiency requirements. The anticipated base system budget is $40 million to $50 million, covering hardware, software, and implementation services, with annual maintenance capped at no more than 5% of the initial system cost.

Evaluation factors include resource performance (accelerated computational units, file systems, high-performance interconnect, and architectural features); facility and site integration (pressure drops, inlet water temperatures, system telemetry, and energy efficiency); manageability, reliability, serviceability, and usability; risk mitigation and past performance on similar projects; and proposed collaboration or partnership opportunities.

NLR targets vendor selection in March 2027 and contract award within 3-4 weeks after proposal receipt, in April 2027. Interested parties should monitor the NLR procurement opportunities page and SAM.gov for the solicitation package and amendments.