Sources Sought Notice Graphite Vacuum Chamber Furnace and Hot Walled Retort Fur

U.S. Department of Energy
National Energy Technology Laboratory
Sources Sought
89243325NFE000182
Graphite Vacuum Chamber Furnace and Hot Walled Retort Furnace for Pyrolysis

ISSUE DATE: 13 DEC 2024

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is conducting market research to identify contractors capable of providing a graphite vacuum chamber furnace and a hot walled retort furnace for pyrolysis. The requirements/specifications of the furnace are outlined in Attachment A to this Sources Sought.

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE that is open to all companies and is for information and planning purposes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This Sources Sought Notice is released pursuant to FAR Part 10 Market Research and is issued for the purpose of identifying available sources (interested entities) capable of performing the requirement. This is not a solicitation announcement for proposals and NO CONTRACT will be awarded from this announcement. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests. The information gathered from this Sources Sought Notice will be utilized in the Government's determination for the business type utilized in the RFQ.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to solicit input and gauge interest among those parties capable of providing a graphite vacuum chamber furnace and a hot walled retort furnace for pyrolysis in accordance with the requirements/specifications outlined in Attachment A to this Source Sought.

DESCRIPTION: The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system and is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. As such, it has advanced alloy manufacturing laboratories focusing on improving manufacturing and materials performance in an array of challenging environments. As part of this mission, NETL has a need providing a graphite vacuum chamber furnace and a hot walled retort furnace for pyrolysis in support of the BIL-METALLIC (Manufacturing Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Facility) funded Multi-Year Research Project.

The information being solicited includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. A cover page (no longer than one page) which provides the following information: The entities name, address, phone number, email address for the point of contact, Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, CAGE code (if applicable), and business size. Specify the small business classification: small business, small-disadvantaged business, woman owned, veteran owned, disabled veteran owned, 8(a) or HUB Zone. The cover page should also include the country in which the furnace would be manufactured in.

2. A brief Statement of Capabilities detailing how your company meets the requirements outlined in Attachment A – Technical Specifications.


SUBMISSION DATE AND TIME:

All interested parties responding to this Sources Sought Notice must submit their responses no later than 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on December 27, 2024 through the FedConnect Portal or to Stefanie.Page@netl.doe.gov. For consistency purposes, responses are to be submitted electronically in either MS Word (.doc or .docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format using a minimum of 11-point font and allowing for 1-inch margins no more than 20 pages in length, inclusive of the cover page. Sources Sought responses may be attached to a notification in the Message Center portion of FedConnect. Information regarding how to submit information via FedConnect can be found at https://www.fedconnect.net. DOE personnel may contact firms responding to this announcement to clarify a responder’s capabilities or obtain other information as part of this market research process.

Please note that FedConnect is owned and operated by Compusearch Software Systems, Inc., not by the Department of Energy and therefore the Government does not provide help desk assistance for FedConnect. For assistance with FedConnect, please contact the FedConnect helpdesk directly:
By email: support@FedConnect.net. By phone: 1-800-899-6665 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time, except Federal Holidays).

You are strongly encouraged to submit your Capability Statement in response to this Sources Sought Notice at least 24 hours before the specified due date in order to have time to resolve any transmission problems.

As previously indicated, this is NOT a solicitation; therefore, no cost or pricing information should be provided. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. This is a market survey to identify potential sources capable of performing the effort required. Responses should be limited to the entity’s cover page and capabilities statement (as identified above) along with their respective business size based upon the list provided. It is not mandatory for an offeror to respond to this Sources Sought Notice in order to be eligible for proposing on a subsequent RFQ when/if issued.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Graphite Vacuum Chamber Furnace (HTK80):
- 2600°C operational temperature
- Disposable retort with a central gas outlets with gas guides
- Water-cooled vacuum vessel that is cool to the touch even if the unit is running at 2600°C
- The system should operate under vacuum pressure to at least 2200°C
- The system should operate under argon up to 2600°C
- Redundant pressure relief values for safety
- Optimized vacuum systems with double stage rotary vane pump. Pump should be controlled through a
- LC with vacuum levels data logged and automatic on/off control.
- The evacuation speed should have a programable limiter to ensure powder or small samples are not
disturbed during evacuation. For example:
- 1000 mbar down to 700 mbar with a pumping speed increasing linearly from 20% to
30%
- 700 mbar down to 40 mbar with a pumping speed increasing linearly from 30% to 40%
- 40 mbar down to 1 mbar with a pumping speed increasing linearly from 40% to 100%
- Factory configured and installed PID terms
- Fully automatic control with Siemens S7-1500 PLC, latest industrial standard
- Siemens TP1900 - 19 inch touch panel
- Vacuum tight sliding thermocouple for accurate temperature measurement at low temperatures
- Multi-layer fiber graphite insulation
- Full NRTL electrical safety inspection and certification to with UL508A and NFPA79
- Built compliant to EMV-Directive 2004/108/EC
- Built compliant to machinery Directive 2006/42/EC
- Built compliant to Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC
- Built to DIN-EN ISO 12100 1+2, DIN-EN 60204-1, DIN-EN ISO 13850
- North American based factory trained service team able to perform onsite work
- Detailed onsite commissioning and training to be carried out by a factory trained service technician
- Heat gas outlet to help prevent condensation in the gas outlet.
- Fueled incinerator torch to full combust any organic outgassing.
- Full PLC datalogging of time, temperature, set point, working set point, pressure, and power
- Loading trolly for use with both systems
- System should have a useable volume (without a retort) of at least 80 liters. Useable dimensions with
retort should be 380 x 380 x 400 H x W x D mm
- A remote support option is required and should be provided with a secure router
- Power supply should be 480 volts three phase 60Hz with an overall power of at least 100kW

Hot Walled Retort Furnace for Pyrolysis (GLO120):
- 1100°C Maximum operational temperature
- Smooth interior without any critical furnace components which will be exposed to sample outgassing
- Water cooled door with a heating zone to help prevent organic condensation
- Redundant pressure relief values for safety
- Optimized vacuum systems with double stage rotary vane pump. Pump should be controlled through a
PLC with vacuum levels data logged and automatic on/off control.
- The evacuation speed should have a programable limiter to ensure powder or small samples are not
disturbed during evacuation. For example:
- 1000 mbar down to 700 mbar with a pumping speed increasing linearly from 20% to
30%
- 700 mbar down to 40 mbar with a pumping speed increasing linearly from 30% to 40%
- 40 mbar down to 1 mbar with a pumping speed increasing linearly from 40% to 100%
- Factory configured and installed PID terms
- Fully automatic control with Siemens S7-1500 PLC, latest industrial standard
- Siemens TP1900 - 19 inch touch panel
- APM heating elements
- Full NRTL electrical safety inspection and certification to with UL508A and NFPA79
- Built compliant to EMV-Directive 2004/108/EC
- Built compliant to machinery Directive 2006/42/EC
- Built compliant to Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC
- Built to DIN-EN ISO 12100 1+2, DIN-EN 60204-1, DIN-EN ISO 13850
- North American based factory trained service team able to perform onsite work
- Detailed onsite commissioning and training to be carried out by a factory trained service technician
- Heat gas outlet to help prevent condensation in the gas outlet.
- Fueled incinerator torch to full combust any organic outgassing.
- Full PLC datalogging of time, temperature, set point, working set point, pressure, and power
- Loading trolly for use with both systems
- System should have a useable volume (without a retort) of at least 120 liters. Useable dimensions with
retort should be 500 x 940 Ø x D (mm)
- A remote support option is required and should be provided with a secure router
- Power supply should be 480 volts three phase 60Hz with an overall power of at least 60kW