SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- Request for Information: Advanced Energy Storage Technology and Manufacturing Roadmap Development
- Notice Date
- 3/25/2009
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, AFRL - Wright Research Site, Det 1 AFRL/PK, Bldg 167, Area B, 2310 8th Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 45433-7801, United States
- ZIP Code
- 45433-7801
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-09-17-PKM
- Archive Date
- 5/12/2009
- Point of Contact
- Jennifer Hoskins,, Phone: 937-255-5369, Norman L. Willis,, Phone: (937) 656-9037
- E-Mail Address
-
Jennifer.Hoskins2@wpafb.af.mil, norman.willis@wpafb.af.mil
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- RFI-09-17-PKM Advanced Energy Storage Technology and Manufacturing Roadmap Development CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS Department of the Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) - Wright Research Site, DPA Title III Contracting Branch, Det 1 AFRL/PKMD, Area B, Bldg 167, 2310 8th Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, 45433-7801. ADDITIONAL GENERAL INFORMATION This is a Request For Information (RFI) only as defined in FAR 15.201(e) to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in FAR 31.205-18, "Bid and Proposal Costs." The government will be utilizing non-government personnel under this RFI. The role of these non-government personnel is to function as technical advisors to the Government reviewers. These non-Government personnel will have access to the information submitted in response to the RFI, and will provide technical expertise and/or advice as required. All non-government personnel have Non-Disclosure Agreements on file with the Government. Contractors employing these individuals and supporting each project are identified below. In addition, this division of Northrop Grumman (Technology Services) and Tiburon Associates, Inc. will be precluded from submitting a response for this effort: Contractor Support Company Northrop Grumman Technology Services Life Cycle Optimization Group 2555 University Blvd Fairborn, OH 45324 Tiburon Associates, Inc. 1421 Prince Street, Suite 210 Alexandria, VA 22314 NOTE: Responses to this RFI are due no later than 27 April 2009. If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints. GENERAL INTENT DESCRIPTION The Air Force, as the Department of Defense (DoD) Executive Agent for the Defense Production Act (DPA) is supporting the AEST&M Program, and provides this REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) inviting industry to provide information on potential topics for the Advanced Energy Storage Technology and Manufacturing (AEST&M) Roadmap Development. Industry responses to the RFI will be assessed and may assist in identifying potential future elements for the AEST&M Roadmap (2011-2015). Note: There is no guarantee that any submitted topic will become an AEST&M project and responders to this RFI will have no competitive advantage in receiving awards related to the submitted topic area. The information submitted in all responses may be utilized to help the Government further define its requirements. If the Government develops a AEST&M project that addresses any submitted or similar topic, the resulting procurement will address technology and business specific requirements as defined by the Government to achieve AEST&M objectives. BACKGROUND Acting upon a request from Congress, the Department of Defense is charged with developing a multi-year roadmap to (1) develop advanced energy storage technologies, and (2) sustain domestic advanced energy storage technology manufacturing capabilities and an assured supply chain necessary to ensure that the Department of Defense has assured access to advanced energy storage technologies to support current military requirements and emerging military needs. "Advanced Energy Storage" refers to "storage" only and does not include "energy generation". This RFI is intended to include man-portable, mobile/vehicle, and installation-level technologies and manufacturing capabilities. Note that for purposes of this RFI, both domestic and foreign sources of manufacturing may be identified in addressing current or near-term capabilities. For development of the roadmap to achieve an assured supply chain, the AEST&M effort will only address domestic sources of supply and demand. The AEST&M anticipates defining domestic source to be a business concern that performs in the United States or Canada substantially all of the research and development, engineering, manufacturing, and production activities required of such business concern under a contract with the United States relating to a critical component or a critical technology item and that procures from such concerns substantially all of any components and assemblies required under a contract with the United States relating to a critical component or critical technology item. (This definition is used within the Defense Production Act Title III Program.) While the focus of this RFI is on DoD-related systems and requirements, it is very appropriate to address technologies that also have application in the commercial/public markets. Technologies that have commercial use can drastically reduce the price and improve the availability of advanced capabilities to the DoD. An obvious example would be hybrid battery technologies for commercial automobiles and trucks that might be used also by military vehicles, even with some minor differences. For the demand information sought below, responders are encouraged to show how commercial demand and production can have benefits to DoD. REQUIRED RESPONSES Limit RFI responses to 20 pages. Responses must be unclassified and contain no proprietary information. Note: See Format and Page Limitations and Submission of Documentation paragraphs for additional instructions. Responses are preferred in the following format: TITLE: Name of the recommended AEST&M project. SUBMITTER INFORMATION: Responses should include the company name, location of research, development, or planned production facilities, and the title, telephone number, and mail and e-mail addresses of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss the submission. GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS/INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS: Identify the government customer organizations or suggested other government organizations cognizant of the technology/production issues and challenges. This should be the organizations/agencies that have the technical or programmatic expertise for assessing the values of the project to potential government customers. Identify the appropriate government programs (and/or point of contact), including organization, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and FAX numbers. Points of contact that can provide additional information useful to the project review should be included in an Appendix. (Pages in the Appendix do not count in the page limitation.) Letters from current or potential government customers expressing an interest in addressing the challenges are encouraged. Such letters may be included in the Appendix, again without impacting the page limitation. PROJECT NEED: This section provides essential background information on the technology. It addresses the technology's importance to national defense and the need for inclusion in the AEST&M Roadmap. This section should include at least the following: 1. Technology Description. The technology and its current and future uses. 2. Benefits. The advantages of the proposed technology over existing technologies and substitutes in terms of cost, performance, and other factors. Cite specific benefits to the national defense and/or the national economy of creating production capacity for the proposed technology. 3. Problem Statement. The nature of the problem (e.g., obsolete storage capacity, lack of production-scale capability, need for lower cost item), its impact on defense capabilities, and any other considerations that increase the need for the project. 4. Essentiality of Government Assistance. Address the following to support the need for potential DoD investment: a. The expansion of capacity, the development of a technological process, or the production of materials is essential to the national defense; and b. United States industry on its own cannot reasonably be expected to provide the needed capacity, technological processes, or materials in a timely manner. TECHNOLOGY MATURITY: The roadmap development effort seeks to examine relatively mature technologies that reasonably can be expected to achieve true manufacturing capability by the end of government fiscal year 2015, 30 September 2015. Therefore, responders should include in their discussion supporting evidence that their technology has achieved Technology Readiness Level 7 (System prototype demonstration in an operational environment) with a path to achieve Level 9 (system proven through successful mission operations) by 30 September 2015. TECHNOLOGY DEMAND: A primary requirement of AEST&M is that commercial clearly identified military demand for a technology must exist and be foreseeable within the period described above. This section describes, in as much detail as possible, current and future demand for the technology. It should include: 1. Projected DoD demand during the next seven years. Cite demand by item of equipment and material quantities and types, for existing and new programs. Be sure to indicate which military departments require the technology. 2. Projected commercial demand (if applicable) for the same period. Be as specific as possible about technology applications. INDUSTRY CAPABILITIES: This section describes industry's current and expected capability to develop or produce the technology. It should include: 1. Domestic U.S. and worldwide production sources. Current and planned capabilities and capacity for specific firms, as available. Note current DoD sources of supply. Estimated quantity of material to be produced over the next seven years (with and without AEST&M assistance). 2. Market dynamics. Explain how competition and other market factors have affected domestic industrial capabilities. Cite market shares and trends, if possible. 3. Constraints. Factors affecting industry's ability and willingness to meet DoD demand without AEST&M incentives. RISKS: Include a discussion of technical and business risks and issues that must be addressed and resolved (or accepted) before the DoD will have an assured supply chain. 1. Business Risks. Include an assessment of the time and cost to bring the new capacity on-line and the product is competitiveness with other sources (domestic or foreign) or with alternative technologies. Address all factors that would affect the sale of this technology and the long-term viability of the source. 2. Technical Uncertainties. Include requirements for new processes, significant scale-up of existing technologies, remaining development risks, product qualification requirements, and technology and manufacturing readiness. PROJECT CONCEPT: Although the Program Office would structure any approved project, an initial concept is required to support understanding of the recommended project. 1. Technical approach. State recommended project's technical objectives and outline the technical approach. Identify what the proposed project would accomplish and how. Describe what work and investments would be necessary to increase the production capacity, increase yields, decrease costs, etc. Identify needed major equipment purchases or upgrades to existing equipment. Include a time-phased plan for major elements of the approach. 2. Business approach. State the proposed business case for the project. Identify current and future markets including customers, projected revenues, employee growth, and market share (include U.S. and world markets). State total investment needed, sources for the investment (own company, AEST&M funds, other government sources, etc.). Estimate the amount of investment industry would be likely/able to make in this project. 3. Cost/Funding Estimates. Provide a top-level breakdown of estimated project costs. Identify recommended type of AEST&M incentive to be used, e.g., production scale-up, engineering costs, equipment purchase costs, business development costs, process optimization, samples and qualification costs, or purchase commitments, etc. REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION / POINTS OF CONTACT: A responder may request clarification in writing from the Contracting Office for any requirement that is unclear by sending an e-mail to the Contracting Points of Contact: Norman.Willis@wpafb.af.mil and Jennifer.Hoskins2@wpafb.af.mil. Any requests for clarification must be received no later than seven (7) business days prior to the close of this RFI in order to receive a timely response. Technical questions regarding this RFI should be directed to Dr. Matthew Seaford, DUSD(AS&C)/Office of Technology Transfer, (703) 607-5313 or via e-mail at matthew.seaford@osd.mil. FORMAT & PAGE LIMITATION Your submittal should be provided on standard letter size 8-1/2 by 11 inch paper, limited to a maximum of 20 single sided, double-spaced pages. The font for text should be Times New Roman 12-point or larger. The Responder may use oversize pages (including "foldouts") where appropriate to contain graphic presentations. Oversize pages do not count as extra pages within the page limitations. Submitted responses should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Existing commercial documentation and product literature can also be submitted and is not subject to a page limitation. Note: No proprietary data should be provided. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTATION Documentation shall be delivered to the Contracting Office at the following address: Det 1 AFRL/PKMD ATTN: Jennifer Hoskins 2310 Eighth Street, Bldg 167 Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7801 Telephone: (937) 255-5369 E-mail: Jennifer.Hoskins2@wpafb.af.mil INFORMATION APPROACH The DoD may or may not select any of the submitted recommended topics for use as a AEST&M project. Projects developed from these topics, as with all AEST&M projects, may be competed in a full and open competition. The Air Force is not required to provide feedback to responders. The DoD is using the RFI process to help identify potential programs and to determine if there is an energy storage development or industrial base concern that could be resolved. Upon receipt of RFI responses, the submissions will be used to determine whether or not they are appropriate. In the pursuit of additional information, the Government may communicate with the initiator of the RFI response.. DISCLAIMER This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, as defined in FAR 15.201 (e), to obtain information about pricing, delivery, and other market information or capabilities for planning purposes. This RFI is not a request for competitive proposals; therefore, responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Companies that respond will not be paid for the information submitted. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. There is no bid package or solicitation at this time. All information received shall be safeguarded from unauthorized disclosure. Please do not submit any proprietary or classified information. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION All responsible sources may submit information in response to this RFI that shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this RFI are due no later than 27 April 2009. If late information is received, it may be considered by the Government Evaluation Team, depending on agency time constraints. All routine communications regarding this announcement should be directed to the contractual point of contact listed above. Please note: the Government is not required to provide feedback to RFI responders. Direct all inquiries to the Contracting Points of Contact listed in the Requests for Clarification / Points of Contact paragraph.
- Web Link
-
FedBizOpps Complete View
(https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=d7a71fc4c949e7377f5bf6ee98f82fc5&tab=core&_cview=1)
- Record
- SN01777347-W 20090327/090325215831-d7a71fc4c949e7377f5bf6ee98f82fc5 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |