Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Reactor Preliminary Design

Space Nuclear Propulsion Program Fuel Development Plan Briefing Announcement A Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Program Fuel Development Plan (FDP) industry briefing is planned for August 18, 2020. A registration form for the briefing is posted with this notice. Pre-solicitation respondents and interested parties are encouraged to complete and submit the registration form by August 17, 2020. A video conference link will be sent to respondents who submit an approved registration form. Participation in the briefing will be limited to the remote video link. The purpose of the SNP-FDP briefing will be to share publicly available information about the SNP program's research into nuclear fuel and core materials. There is no requirement for parties interested in the reactor design effort described by the pre-solicitation announcement to use the SNP Program's fuel development information as part of their proposals, but the SNP-FDP briefing is being offered to foster discussion about potential design options. The briefing will include information about SNP fuel technology development work that is being performed by NASA and DOE, testing activities that are planned under the SNP FDP, and background about base contract period scope elements that are discussed in the pre-solicitation announcement. Space Nuclear Propulsion Program Fuel Development Plan Briefing Details SNP-FDP briefing registration forms due date: August 17, 2020 (note: The registration form should list all people attending from your company. If any attendees are foreign nationals, please provide their name, date of birth, and country of origin to Steve Gihring in a separate email by August 17, 2020. If necessary, a separate registration form can be submitted for each attendee from your company, or a separate list can be provided in the comment section of the form.) Submit registration forms to Steve Gihring at Steven.Gihring@inl.gov SNP-FDP briefing event date: August 18, 2020 SNP-FDP briefing time: 10:00 - 11:30 am, mountain daylight time ======================================================= PRESOLICITATION NOTICE Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Reactor Preliminary Design Introduction and Submission Requirements The DRAFT Request for Proposal (RFP) provided under this Presolicitation Notice (Notice) includes preliminary solicitation instructions along with draft contract scope, terms, conditions, and provisions relative to the subject opportunity. Interested parties are requested to carefully review the RFP binder provided, including its Statement of Work (SOW) document (an applicable document to the draft contract) to gain a better understanding of the procurement and project requirements. Interested parties are invited to submit information that will allow the Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), working with its government sponsors (DOE and NASA), to optimize the draft RFP and advise interested parties about their potential to be viable competitors. Therefore, interested parties are requested to submit the following information as required to be considered for future communications under this Notice: A list of comments and/or questions relative to the draft RFP included with this Notice. A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) and other appropriate information, e.g., proposed technical approach, capabilities, past performance, and other as applicable. Additionally, the SOQ must address the - mandatory requirements included in the draft RFP, specifically: The Offeror shall demonstrate that it or its teaming partner(s) has the experience and current capability to (1) handle High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) and (2) apply for and successfully obtain a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license required to perform the optional scope described in the SOW document. The Offeror shall demonstrate that it or its teaming partner(s) has the experience and current capability to fabricate and test nuclear components. Interested parties are notified that the date and time for the Fuel Development Briefing described the Notice has been established. The Briefing will be conducted from 10:00 - 11:30 MT (11:00 - 12:30 CT) on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. Additional information regarding the briefing logistics will be provided via an updated posting to this Notice. Submission Instructions To respond to this Notice, interested parties must submit the aforementioned RFP comments/questions and SOQ. The SOQ submission must be no more than ten pages, including cover letter and any attachments; RFP comments/questions may be in the form of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with the length determined by the number of items offered. The submittal package must be submitted by no later than later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) on August 21, 2020. The submittal shall include a cover sheet and must be submitted by email to Steven Gihring at steven.gihring@inl.gov. The cover sheet (page 1 of your submission) should identify the interested party and relevant partners and should provide points of contact from the interested party. Respondents are strongly encouraged to avoid including proprietary information in responding to this Notice; however, any proprietary information that is provided must be clearly marked as such. Format specifications include 12-point font, single-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 by 11 inches paper, with 1-inch margins in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. Eligibility BEA invites participation in this Notice from those capable and qualified sources engaged in relevant reactor R&D and demonstration activities. Furthermore, this Notice is open to responses from both domestic and non-domestic entities. BEA anticipates that federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) will not be eligible to participate as partners in response to the subsequent RFP; however, respondents can broadly identify scope of work they would like FFRDCs to perform. Disclaimers and Important Notes This Notice is issued solely for information and project/program planning purposes. The Notice does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this Notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by BEA to form a binding contract. Submission of a SOQ is voluntary and is not required to propose to subsequent announcements, if any, or research solicitations, if any, on this topic. BEA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this Notice. Any proprietary information should be clearly marked as such. Respondents are advised that BEA is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this Notice. Submissions may be reviewed by U.S. Government personnel; FFRDCs; and support contractors to the U.S. Government.