Cornerstone Initiative CS-20-0802 Heavy Rare Earth Element Separations

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command - Chemical Biological Center (CCDC CBC), Rock Island, IL, on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy via its Manufacturing Resiliency and Assurance Office, and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program (10 U.S.C. - 2508), in conjunction with Army Contracting Command - Rock Island (ACC-RI), manages the Cornerstone Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), in accordance with 10 U.S.C. - 2371b. Cornerstone was architected to create a broad-based, flexible and enduring public-private consortium focused on strategic strengthening of the U.S. Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and provides a strong complement to the mandates in Presidential Executive Order 13806. ACC-RI, on behalf of CCDC CBC, intends to issue a competitive Cornerstone Initiative Request (CIR) for Heavy Rare Earth Element Separation on or after 21 October 2019, with an estimated closing date of 30 days after issuance. The CIR for Heavy Rare Earth Element Separation is restricted to Cornerstone consortium members. The CIR will solicit proposals for one (1) fixed amount OTA with incremental payments made upon completion of specific milestones. Period of performance will be up to 10 years. A non-competitive follow-on production OT may be awarded following a successful prototype. The objective of this effort is to field a commercially sustainable domestic capability for the separation of heavy rare earth elements in support of DoD and essential civilian products. The effort will comprise four phases, including a market and engineering scoping study, pilot scale facility, full-scale facility, and qualification into defense and essential civilian supply chains. The CIR for Heavy Rare Earth Element Separation will be communicated to the Cornerstone consortium and companies with pending applications via email. Entities are required to have begun the membership process for their proposal to be reviewed. Entities must be members of the Cornerstone consortium, with a signed Cornerstone Consortium Management Agreement, to be awarded this OTA task. Contractors may obtain Cornerstone registration information by visiting the Cornerstone website: http://ibasp-public.ria.army.mil/cornerstone/ Interested parties should stay alert for any changes that may be published to this FBO posting. Please email all questions and responses to the following mailbox: contact@example.gov This Special Notice is for planning purposes only and does not constitute a CIR or an obligation on behalf of the U.S. Government. Issuance of this Special Notice is not a guarantee of a future CIR or an award and is not a commitment of any kind by the Government.