FPN24-17

Pulsed Power Public/Private Partnership Opportunity

April 2, 2024

Sandia National Laboratories has issued the following opportunity notice:

PULSED POWER PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Request for Information

National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia (NTESS) LLC, located on Kirtland Airforce Base (KAFB), Albuquerque, New Mexico, responsible for Management and Operations of Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), is soliciting level of interest and information on behalf of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for ways to best structure a public-private partnership (PPP) program that advances needed pulsed power capabilities.

More specifically, in this Request for Information (RFI), DOE/NNSA is interested in information that would enable partnering with private industry to 1) advance pulsed power technologies that would enable a more cost-effective and more reliable large scale pulsed power machine, and 2) develop privately-owned pulsed power capabilities that advance private interests (e.g. economical fusion energy) while at the same time are of contractual interest to NNSA in performing its mission.

The information supplied in the responses by this RFI will inform DOE/NNSA on how to strategize and formalize investment plans. As part of this process, it is anticipated, but not guaranteed, that this RFI will be followed by requests for proposals (RFP) to execute a mutually beneficial milestone-based program that could advance a future pulsed power facility more quickly and at lower cost, while at the same time serving to advance commercial industry capabilities in the United States. We note that supporting commercial fusion energy companies in particular may be synergistic with broader Department of Energy goals. NTESS and DOE/NNSA will share and discuss responses of this RFI with its national labs, including Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Any response that includes information requiring a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before dissemination with other parties must include a written notice of such restriction and agreement to negotiate any required NDA in good faith and as quickly as possible.

This document is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) nor part of an RFP at this time. This RFI does not commit NTESS or DOE/NNSA to subcontract for any supply or service. NTESS will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense.

For more information see:

https://supplierportal.sandia.gov/OA_HTML/OA.jsp?page=/snl/oracle/apps/snlpon/sourcing/snlabstract/webui/PgAbstractQueryPG&OAHP=POS_GUEST_REG_HP&OASF=SNL_PON_ABSTRACT_QUERY&OAPB=POS_ISP_BRAND&_ti=583811370&oapc=2&oas=N6IdAYy0TyUNIqXueufewA..

Interested parties may also contact:
Kyle John Peterson
kpeters@sandia.gov