Solicitation
PIP-II Niobium Sheets, Rings, and Disks
Department of Energy
AI summaryFermilab, run for the Department of Energy by Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG), wants niobium and niobium-titanium sheets, rings and disks for the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) particle accelerator upgrade, delivered to Batavia, Illinois. The buy is unrestricted, with no set-aside, and priced firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs). The response due date is November 10, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern on SAM.gov, while the RFP says 2:00 PM CST. Award is a best-value tradeoff in which non-price factors count far more than price. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 10 attachments weren't read (B. Drawing Files.zip). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Fermilab, run for the Department of Energy by Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG), wants niobium and niobium-titanium sheets, rings and disks for the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) particle accelerator upgrade, delivered to Batavia, Illinois. The buy is unrestricted, with no set-aside, and priced firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs). The response due date is November 10, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern on SAM.gov, while the RFP says 2:00 PM CST. Award is a best-value tradeoff in which non-price factors count far more than price.
Who can bid
- No set-aside: businesses of any size can bid (the size standard for NAICS 331491 is 750 employees)
- A bidder that is not a small business must send a draft Small Business Subcontracting Plan if the subcontract exceeds $750,000.00
- Be able to manufacture, inspect, test, certify and deliver the material, with a documented quality assurance program approved before award
How to submit: Email to the Procurement Specialist, Seth Fryar, sfryar@fnal.gov. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (10)
From the version posted Oct 19, 2026.
- Serious: Unit of issue not stated on the pricing sheet. Each line gives a quantity (for example QTY 73) but no unit of issue, yet the sheet asks for a unit price; confirm with the Procurement Specialist what one unit is.
- Worth checking: Drawings needed to price are available only on request. The drawing files (Exhibit B) are attached as a zip that was not read; email the Procurement Specialist to get them.
- Worth checking: No price escalation; prices valid 90 days. Metal prices can move, but escalation language will be refused and the firm price must hold for 90 days.
Show all 10Show fewer
- Worth checking: Exceptions can get the proposal disqualified. Any exception to the specifications or terms may lead to disqualification, so take as few as possible.
- Worth checking: Incomplete proposals may be rejected as non-responsive. A missing timeline, prior work examples, references or the pricing form can make the whole proposal non-responsive.
- Worth checking: Three past projects from the last five years required. A business without three similar, documented projects from the past five years may be judged non-responsive.
- Worth checking: Small Business Subcontracting Plan required from larger bidders. Non-small awardees above $750,000.00 must send a draft plan with the proposal or risk rejection; small businesses are not covered.
- Minor: Quality Assurance Plan due with the proposal and approved before award. Fermilab can witness manufacturing steps, tests and inspections, and may test delivered material again.
- Minor: Delivery to Batavia, Illinois, with import costs split. International shipments go DAP to Batavia, and the seller handles shipping and export clearance; Fermilab handles import customs clearance and duties.
- Minor: No contact with Fermilab staff about the RFP. Contact other than with the Procurement Specialist can get a bidder disqualified.
Read from the notice and 9 attachments. 1 of 10 not read. Show which files.
- RFP 385634-DSF.pdf (read)
- A1. ED0008232-B.pdf (read)
- A2. ED0371037-E.pdf (read)
- C. FFDG General Terms and Conditions for Supplies (08.2025).pdf (read)
- D. PROC-FRM-100_Subcontractor Certs.pdf (read)
- E. PROC-FRM-466_Proposal Certs.pdf (read)
- F. Compliance With Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws.pdf (read)
- G. FL-55 Small Business Subcontracting Plan.pdf (read)
- H. Sample Subcontract.pdf (read)
- B. Drawing Files.zip: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Nine priced lines of material made to Fermilab drawings: RRR300 niobium sheets (items 1, 2, 3 and 9), RRR300 forged niobium rings (item 5), Nb55Ti rings (items 4 and 6) and Nb55Ti disks (items 7 and 8)
- Quantities: item 1 QTY 73, item 2 QTY 8, item 3 QTY 7, item 4 QTY 7, item 5 QTY 14, item 6 QTY 7, item 7 QTY 14, item 8 QTY 7, item 9 QTY 7; unit of issue not stated for any line
- Manufacture, inspect, test, certify, package and deliver the material to the Technical Specifications (Exhibits A1 and A2)
- Niobium sheet to a residual resistivity ratio (RRR, a purity measure) above 300, at least 95% recrystallized, with set grain size and hardness limits, per Fermilab specification ED0371037 Rev E
- Titanium-niobium alloy (Nb55Ti, about 55% titanium) rings and disks with limits on chemistry, hardness and strength, per specification ED0008232 Rev B
- Lot and heat-treatment traceability, test reports and material certifications delivered with the material (item 10, no separate price)
- Package in wooden crates handled by forklift, with each sheet individually wrapped
- Ship international orders delivered at place (DAP) to Batavia, Illinois; domestic orders FOB Destination (the seller pays freight and carries risk until delivery)
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP) subcontract
- Period of performance
- No period stated; each bidder proposes its delivery time after receipt of award on the pricing sheet
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Best-value tradeoff: price and non-price factors are traded off, and all non-price factors combined are significantly more important than price.
- Offers due
- November 10, 2026, 2:00 PM Eastern (SAM.gov); November 10, 2026, 2:00 PM CST (RFP)
- How to submit
- Email to the Procurement Specialist, Seth Fryar, sfryar@fnal.gov
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Merit & Quality: (a) overall quality of the proposal against the mandatory specifications, certification and testing requirements, (b) technical capabilities, staffing, experience and infrastructure, including any subcontracted work, (c) a Quality Assurance Plan
- Past Experience: at least three relevant projects of similar size, scope and complexity from the past five years
- Management Control Plan: how quality and dimensional and material conformance will be controlled
- Delivery Schedule and Milestones: a computer-generated schedule such as a Gantt chart; shorter lead times may score better
- Price: firm-fixed-price on the RFP pricing sheet
What to include when you submit
- Send two separate parts that are not bound together: Part I Technical Proposal and Part II Business/Cost/Price; the technical part must not mention cost beyond past project amounts
- Keep every submitted document separate; do not combine them
- Price on the RFP Pricing Sheet (Exhibit I) only: unit price, total and HTS/Taric code for each line, plus proposed delivery after receipt of award; state any extra charges for containers or tooling
- Prices in USD, firm-fixed, valid 90 days from the proposal due date; no economic price escalation
- Send at least three (3) relevant examples from the past five (5) years, each with customer name, project name and location, description, total contract amount, schedule length, and start and completion dates (percent complete and projected finish if still running), plus sample project documents
- Include a detailed Quality Assurance Plan covering how material properties are checked, how defects are found, test procedures and the criteria for rejecting parts
- Include a Management Control Plan with examples such as a quality control plan, manufacturing inspection plan or factory acceptance verification matrix
- Include a Gantt chart or similar schedule showing delivery and milestones
- Say which part of the work, if any, will be subcontracted
- Complete and sign the Subcontractor Annual Reps & Certs (PROC-FRM-100, Exhibit D) and Proposal Certifications (PROC-FRM-466, Exhibit E), all sections, signed by a company official
- If the awardee is not a small business and the subcontract exceeds $750,000.00, send a draft Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Exhibit G, FL-55) with the proposal
- Put any exceptions to the specifications or terms on a separate sheet on company letterhead, not on the pricing sheet
- Mark proprietary data clearly with the legend the RFP gives on the title page and on each restricted sheet
- Acknowledge any amendment by email, by signing and returning it, or in the proposal
Not in the notice text
- The drawing files (Exhibit B, 'B. Drawing Files.zip') are attached but not read; they are available on request from sfryar@fnal.gov. Parts of the specification ED0371037, the terms and conditions, PROC-FRM-466 and the subcontracting plan form were also only partly read.
- The unit of issue for each priced line is not stated
- The delivery time wanted is not stated; bidders propose it on the pricing sheet
- The contract's dollar value or budget is not stated
- Where the material is made or the work is done is not stated; the destination is Batavia, Illinois
- How much each evaluation factor counts against the others is not stated, only that non-price factors together outweigh price
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to the Procurement Specialist, Seth Fryar, sfryar@fnal.gov. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 19, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Fermilab - DOE Contractor, Batavia, IL
- Product/service code
- 9535 · Plate, Sheet, Strip, and Foil; Nonferrous Base Metal
- Business type
- Manufactured parts & equipment (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 331491)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) iis soliciting proposals for Niobium and Niobium Alloy Sheets, Rings and Disks in support of the PIP-II Project. Proposals can be submitted directly to the Primary Contact listed on this notice and within the RFP Document. Pricing must be submitted using the Request for Proposal Pricing Sheet, Exhibit I, which is located at the end of the RFP document.
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