Published date: 21 January 2022

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 1 March 2022, 2pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting - 31000000

  • Magnets - 31630000

  • Electrical tape - 31651000

    • Electrical parts of machinery or apparatus - 31670000

    • Electrical circuits - 31681300

    • Electrical components - 31681400

    • Electronic, electromechanical and electrotechnical supplies - 31700000

    • Electromechanical equipment - 31720000

    • Electrical engineering installation works - 45315100

    • Engineering design services for mechanical and electrical installations for buildings - 71321000

    • Research and development services and related consultancy services - 73000000

Location of contract

South East

Value of contract

£4,000,000 to £6,000,000

Procurement reference

20220121113109-72814

Published date

21 January 2022

Closing date

1 March 2022

Closing time

2pm

Contract start date

9 May 2022

Contract end date

31 March 2024

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

No

Description

In addition to UKAEA's research activities on the MAST spherical tokamak and participation in the JET research programme, an ambitious, £220 million collaborative programme was launched - STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) - to accelerate the delivery of sustainable fusion energy. The STEP programme is a staged programme, combining the strengths of UKAEA with industry, universities and other organisations, to design and build the world's first compact fusion reactor, based on the spherical tokamak, by 2040.

The STEP programme aims to:
• Build on UK global leadership in fusion;
• Deliver a prototype reactor by 2040;
• Prove the viability of fusion as a technology for generating electricity.

Over the period to 31 March 2024, the STEP programme will:
• Create an investible concept design;
• Understand the market and how the reactor will be built;
• Enable and inspire the UK's capability and capacity to deliver.

After the concept design phase, it is expected that there will be increasing involvement of private-sector companies in the STEP programme, with the technology eventually transferred into the private sector for production and implementation.

STEP product development has been split into functional categories (e.g. plant architecture, plasma control, confinement, in-vessel components, fuel cycle, etc.), most of which will require increasing levels of Manufacturing support as design concept iterations are progressed, culminating in a requirement for specific Design for Manufacture (DfM) and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) assessment and guidance.

More information

Links

About the buyer

Contact name

Sarah Meakin

Address

Culham Science Centre
Abingdon
OX14 3DB
ENG

Telephone

+44 1235467082

Email

sarah.meakin@ukaea.uk

Website

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-atomic-energy-authority