SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- REQUEST FOR CONCEPT PAPERS - BAA SOLICITATION W911QY-12-R-0032; TOPIC D - TENTAGE, FABRIC STRUCTURES, AND RIGID WALL SHELTERS/SHELTERS AND LIFE SUPPORT TECHNOLOGIES FOR CONTINGENCY BASING
- Notice Date
- 7/25/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- ACC-APG - Natick (SPS), ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011
- ZIP Code
- 01760-5011
- Solicitation Number
- W911QY-12-0032-01
- Response Due
- 8/30/2013
- Archive Date
- 9/23/2013
- Point of Contact
- Darlene Rideout, (508) 233-6134
- E-Mail Address
-
ACC-APG - Natick (SPS)
(darlene.l.rideout.civ@mail.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Natick Contracting Division in support of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), Natick, MA, is requesting concept papers from industry and academia for fault tolerant photovoltaic (PV) textiles for military applications that possess true three dimensional flexibility, and the potential for large scale format manufacturability. This is not a Request for Proposal. The Government intends on awarding a minimum of one contract under topic D, Tentage, Fabric Structures, and Rigid Wall Shelters / Shelters and Life Support Technologies for Contingency Basing of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) W911QY-12-R-0032. BACKGROUND: Army shelters and Soldier systems require power and energy in order to meet the physical and operational needs of the supported Warfighter. The importance of having a renewable source of energy that performs this mission has become a crucial issue in the area of rapidly deployable shelter technologies. Power is currently supplied to fielded Army base camps through the use of heavy unit-driven generators and batteries. The characteristics of these power sources create high monetary and logistical costs. Their weight increases the burden to soldiers, causes greater fuel consumption and degrades the performance of Army transport vehicles that are used to transport not only the generators, but are also used to deliver resupply of the expensive fossil fuels burned in those generators. Additionally Army small units would greatly benefit from an alternative energy source that ultimately would be virtually indistinguishable from traditional textiles. Such an alternative energy source is envisioned to be able supplement existing energy storage media and potentially fully support low power electronic loads for select mission sets. This, in turn, would reduce the need for carrying extra batteries, and replace other alternative fuel based energy generators (e.g. fuel cells, etc.) that require non-standard fuels. Current Natick efforts have produced Photovoltaic module integrated textile designs, to include PV integrated with military solar shades, and military tentage. This request for concept papers seeks to move beyond that level of integration to true power producing textiles where the individual components of the textile would be of a photovoltaic nature, and the design of the textile would allow for collection of the electric charge from those individual components. The Army's Natick Soldier Systems Center strives to research, integrate, develop and mature next generation photovoltaic textiles for power generation in support of both Army shelters and Soldier platforms. Specific areas of concern include: long term environmental durability, rugged construction to mimic traditional textiles, high energy collection efficiency, inherent redundancy of internal energy collection pathways, the ability to be scaled up to large format manufacture, while maintaining minimized weight, and reduced cost. DESIRED CAPABILITIES AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: The Army is seeking unique, forward-thinking ideas in order to develop a photovoltaic (PV) textile for use in both large format application such as Army shelters, and smaller applications such as small unit alternative energy collection in the field. Ideally, the PV textile will have the following capabilities/characteristics: Long term environmental stability in both stowed and deployed conditions Rugged construction that mimic existing military tentage and Soldier textiles to include the ability to withstand multiple folds or small radius bends Design inherent fault tolerant energy harvesting with minimal degradation from external events that may damage the textile (e.g. punctures, minor tears, etc.) Compact format for shipment/transport, air-droppable or vehicle carried, Durability to operate in a variety of extreme environments and terrains found across the globe. Fire-proof, or at a minimum flame retardant In-field repairable - minimize the need for special tools / repair materials Upward Scalability to support large format manufacturing Decontamination and cleansing capable As with all expeditionary Army systems, factors such as weight and cube should be considered and minimized. Additionally, Environment Protection Agency (EPA) regulations should be taken into consideration in the selection of materials and end of life disposal of the system. SUBMISSION PROCESS: All interested firms are encouraged to submit a Concept Paper to NSRDEC in accordance with NSRDEC Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Solicitation W911QY-12-R-0032, which can be found at http://www3.natick.army.mil/ The BAA contains instructions for submission of Concept Papers. Proprietary information will not be disclosed outside the U.S. Government. Nothing shall be construed herein or through the synopsis process to commit or obligate the Government to further action as a result of this synopsis. Firms responding to this synopsis shall bear all risk and expense of any resources used to provide the requested information, and all information submitted in response to this request shall become the property of the Government, and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are invited to submit a concept paper under the topic referenced above and shall submit via email to steven.r.tucker10.civ@mail.mil by 30 Aug 2013. The Government shall evaluate all white papers and provide a written response/proposal invitation to the offerors on or about 30 Sep 2013. Any questions concerning this acquisition should be addressed to Steven Tucker, NCD, via email to the address listed above. The Natick BAA is effective from 1 April 2013 through 31 March 2015. It is anticipated that cost plus fixed fee contract will be awarded. In accordance with FAR 16.301-3, for an anticipated cost type contract to be awarded, potential offerors must ensure that they have an adequate accounting system, as determined by their cognizant Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) office. This synopsis expires 30 Aug 2013.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/notices/504b8e7f2eef13cb1957d19f5e173ab7)
- Place of Performance
- Address: ACC-APG - Natick (SPS) ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street Natick MA
- Zip Code: 01760-5011
- Zip Code: 01760-5011
- Record
- SN03127160-W 20130727/130725235444-504b8e7f2eef13cb1957d19f5e173ab7 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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