UPDATE: EVENT REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 03/26/2010 Introduction The Magnet Systems Team of the US ITER Project Office is responsible for delivering the Central Solenoid (CS) Magnet System to ITER, an international collaboration head-quartered in Cadarache, France. The project is being designed and built by the ITER partners: the European Union, India, Japan, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States. US project responsibilities will be accomplished through a collaboration of DOE laboratories, universities, and industry. The U.S. ITER Project Office is hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with partner labs Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Savannah River National Laboratory. From Latin for "the way", ITER has the goal of demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of extracting net power from a burning, fusion plasma. Achieving this burning plasma requires the resolution of complex physics issues and the integration of new and improved technologies. ITER is designed to be the premier scientific tool for exploring and testing expectations for plasma behavior in the burning-plasma regime, wherein the fusion process itself provides the dominant heat source to sustain the plasma temperature. The fusion power from this machine will be up to ten times greater than the total external power required for operating the machine and heating its plasma. As such, it will provide the scientific basis and plasma-control tools needed to move toward commercial power from fusion energy. The United States is an equal, non-host partner, responsible for about 9% of the construction cost of ITER. As such, it will contribute hardware components, personnel, cash, and contingency during the construction phase of the project. The CS magnet system will be a major part of the US-contributed hardware. Background The CS Magnet System is very large superconducting magnet system that will be comprised of a stack of 6 Modules and the External Structure that holds them all together and supports them during operation. A total of 7 CS modules will be manufactured, with one serving as a spare. All modules will be delivered to the ITER Site, Cadarache, France, along with the External Structure and special tooling for assembly. The CS Modules will be constructed from Nb3Sn-based, cable-in-conduit conductors supplied by the Japanese Team in lengths of either 600 or 900 meters each (and weights of about 11 or 16 metric tons, respectively). Each module will weigh approximately 110 metric tons when finished, and when assembled, the total system will be approximately 18 meters tall and weigh around 900 metric tons. When charged to full current of 45 kilo-amperes, the assembly will produce fields of over 12 Tesla and will store over 6 Giga-Joules of energy. Terminal-to-terminal operating voltages up to 14 kilo-volts are expected. The superconducting-magnet technologies embodied in the ITER CS Magnet System are essential to future fusion reactors but may also be regarded as enabling technologies for future large superconducting magnetic systems. The design of the CS Magnet System is presently in an advanced conceptual-design stage. The project is now ready to begin preliminary design. Acquisition Plan An acquisition plan has been developed. The main elements of the acquisition plan are as follows: - The US Domestic Agency (DA) is responsible for the design of the CS modules, structures, and assembly tooling and for the assembly procedures - Industrial vendors will be selected after final design to provide the CS structures and assembly tooling - Study contracts will be placed with potential industrial vendors for the CS structures and assembly tooling to assist the US DA design and planning efforts - Long lead materials for the CS structures will be procured by the US DA before the completion of final design and provided to the industrial vendors as government furnished equipment (GFE) - An industrial vendor will be selected as soon as possible to provide the CS module fabrication - The US DA will develop (with industry support) critical fabrication processes prior to award of the CS module fabrication contract and transfer this technology to the industrial vendor - Study contracts will be placed with potential industrial vendors for the CS modules as needed to assist the US DA design, manufacturing development, and planning efforts until the production contract is awarded Schedules for acquiring the CS modules, structures, and assembly are illustrated in the attached figures 1 and 2. A Look Forward at ITER CS Business Opportunities The purpose of this announcement is to identify prospective vendors to support this acquisition plan through assisting in CS design and planning activities, providing structural materials, and fabricating the CS modules, structures, and assembly tooling. To provide early information about the ITER CS design, fabrication, and future business opportunities, a vendor conference will be held on April 7, 2010 in Oak Ridge, TN. At this conference, the CS acquisition plan, along with details of the project schedule and the design and fabrication effort will be presented and discussed. Potential suppliers for CS modules, structures, assembly tooling, and bulk materials are encouraged to attend. Feedback from prospective vendors on the acquisition plan is sought. Registration for the vendor conference is required before March 26, 2010. Please register with Pat Smith, US ITER Contracts Assistant, by COB, March 26, 2010. (Pat Smith, 1055 Commerce Park, MS 6483, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831-6483,
contact@example.gov,
+1 (555) 000-0000). Registration by e-mail is preferred. Company name, number and names of potential attendees, and country of citizenship are required. Attendees that are not United States citizens must also provide their date of birth and country of birth. If you are unable to attend but are interested in future CS business opportunities, please contact Pat Smith. Procurement of the CS modules will begin with the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) in August 2010 and contract award in March 2011. This will be a contract for a single vendor (or team) for the fabrication of the CS modules. Preliminary design will be in progress during the period of this solicitation. Manufacturing input into CS module design and planning efforts during this period will be arranged through individual study contracts or through Basic Ordering Agreements (BOA) with task orders for specific studies. Prospective suppliers for the CS modules are encouraged to participate in these study contracts, or BOAs, for providing manufacturing input. Procurement of the CS structures will begin following final design with the release of the RFP in May 2013 and contract award in October 2013. These will be contracts with one or more vendors for the fabrication of CS structures. The design of the CS structures may entail the use of hundreds of tons of high strength stainless steel. To avoid lengthy schedule delays, we plan to procure much of this material in advance and provide it to the structure fabricators as government furnished equipment (GFE). The RFP for this procurement will be released midway through final design in February 2012 with contract award in June 2012. The US DA is responsible for providing any special purpose assembly tooling needed to assemble the CS modules and structures into a single unit. Procurement of the CS assembly tooling will begin following final design with the release of the RFP in January 2013 and contract award in June 2013. These will be contracts with one or more vendors for the fabrication of CS assembly tooling. Procurement of the CS structures and assembly tooling will not occur until after final design is completed. As with the CS modules, manufacturing input into CS structures and assembly tooling design and planning efforts during this period will be arranged through individual study contracts or through Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) with task orders for specific studies. Prospective suppliers for the CS structures and assembly tooling are encouraged to participate in these study contracts or BOAs for providing manufacturing input. We thank you for your interest in the potential ITER CS business opportunities.
