SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION {NASA} CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES PROGRAM Carbon Dioxide Conversion Challenge
- Notice Date
- 6/12/2018
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541715
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Office of Procurement, Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama, 35812, United States
- ZIP Code
- 35812
- Solicitation Number
- NNM18ZST612L
- Archive Date
- 7/14/2018
- Point of Contact
- Melinda E Swenson, Phone: 2565440381
- E-Mail Address
-
melinda.e.swenson@nasa.gov
(melinda.e.swenson@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- 1. INTRODUCTION The Centennial Challenges Program seeks to stimulate research and technology solutions to support NASA missions and inspire new national aerospace capabilities through public prize competitions. The program is an integral part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing, and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) see http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech. 2. OVERVIEW The Centennial Challenges program is seeking input on the Carbon Dioxide Conversion challenge concept. The Challenge seeks to develop novel synthesis technologies that use carbon dioxide (CO2) as the sole carbon source to generate molecules that can be used to manufacture a variety of products, including "substrates" for use in microbial bioreactors. Because CO2 is readily abundant within the Martian atmosphere, such technologies will translate into in-situ manufacturing of products to enable humans to live and thrive on the planet, and also be implemented on Earth by using both waste and atmospheric CO2 as a resource. The primary goal of this challenge is to advance the capabilities of physicochemical systems (no biological components) to convert CO2 into compounds that can be used to bio-manufacture useful mission products. Of particular interest are compounds that can be used as an energy substrate for heterotrophic organisms in bio-manufacturing systems. In general, substrates of higher molecular complexity and potential metabolic energy, in part measured by the number of carbon atoms, are superior as they are more efficiently utilized by widely-used heterotrophic bio-manufacturing organisms and promote higher growth rates. For example, the sugar D-glucose contains six carbon atoms and is considered to be the ideal substrate for many model heterotrophic microbes, as it is a readily metabolized substrate. It is also a food ingredient for human consumption, thereby demonstrating potential dual-use during missions. This Centennial Challenge provides the opportunity for participants to advance the capabilities of physicochemical CO2-based organic synthesis systems being developed in academic institutions and industry as well as to investigate pioneering approaches not yet explored. This RFI seeks: (1) to gather feedback on the competition being considered, including the challenge goal, prize amounts, and competition structure (including parameters and evaluation criteria); and (2) to determine the interest level in potentially competing in this challenge. Specific information sought is detailed in Section 6 to support a target date in June 2018 to initiate the Challenge Responses should be submitted in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word format and are limited to five (5) pages in length. Responses should include: name, address, email address, and phone number of the responding individual, business, or organization, with point of contact for business or organization. Comments must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 29, 2018, to Mr. David Howard at e-mail address: HQ-STMD-CentennialChallenges@mail.nasa.gov. Please use "Carbon Dioxide Conversion Challenge RFI" on the subject line. NASA welcomes individual innovators and enthusiasts as well as those affiliated with industry, academia, governments, and other organizations to reply to this RFI. This RFI is for informational/planning purposes only and the Government will not be responsible for any cost associated with preparing information in support of this RFI. This RFI is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the government to enter into any agreement or other obligation or to conduct a Carbon Dioxide to Glucose Challenge. This notice is issued in accordance with the NASA Prize Authority, 51 U.S.C. § 20144. Responses may be made available for public review and should not include proprietary information. Submitted information will be reviewed by NASA and contractor personnel associated with the NASA Centennial Challenges Program. For general information on the NASA Centennial Challenges Program see: http://www.nasa.gov/challenges. The point of contact is Ms. Monsi Roman, Program Manager, Centennial Challenges Program, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, email to monsi.roman@nasa.gov. 3. BACKGROUND Future planetary habitats on Mars will require a high degree of self-sufficiency. This requires a concerted effort to both effectively recycle supplies brought from Earth and use local resources such as CO2, water and regolith to manufacture mission-relevant products. Human life support and habitation systems will treat wastewater to make drinking water, recover oxygen from CO2, convert solid wastes to useable products, grow food, and specially design equipment and packaging to allow reuse in alternate forms. In addition, In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) techniques will use available local materials to generate substantial quantities of products to supply life support needs, propellants and building materials, and support other In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) activities. Many of these required mission products such as food, nutrients, medicines, plastics, fuels, and adhesives are organic, and are comprised mostly of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen molecules. These molecules are readily available within the Martian atmosphere (CO2, N2) and surface water (H2O), and could be used as the feedstock to produce an array of desired products. While some products will be most efficiently made using physicochemical methods or photosynthetic organisms such as plants and algae, many products may best be produced using heterotrophic (organic substrate utilizing) microbial production systems. Terrestrially, heterotrophic bioreactor systems can utilize fast growing microbes combined with high concentrations of rich organic substrates, such as sugars, to enable very rapid rates of bio-product generation. The type of organic substrate used strongly affects the efficiency of the microbial system. For example, while an organism may be able to use simple organic compounds such as formate (1- carbon) and acetate (2-carbon), these "low-energy" substrates will typically result in poor growth. In order to maximize the rate of growth and reduce system size and mass, organic substrates that are rich in energy and carbon, such as sugars, are needed. Sugars such as D-Glucose, a six-carbon sugar that is used by a wide variety of model heterotrophic microbes, is typically the preferred organic substrate for commercial terrestrial microbial production systems and experimentation. There are a wide range of other compounds, such as less complex sugars and glycerol that could also support relatively rapid rates of growth. To effectively employ microbial bio-manufacturing platforms on planetary bodies such as Mars, it is vital that the carbon substrates be made on-site using local materials. However, generating complex compounds like glucose on Mars presents an array of challenges. While sugar-based substrates are inexpensively made on Earth from plant biomass, this approach is currently not feasible in space. Alternatively, current physicochemical processes such as photo/electrochemical and thermal catalytic systems are able to make smaller organic compounds such as methane, formate, acetate and some alcohols from CO2; however, these systems have not been developed to make more complex organic molecules, such as sugars, primarily because of difficult technical challenges combined with the low cost of obtaining sugars from alternate methods on Earth. Novel research and development is required to create the physicochemical systems required to directly make more complex molecules from CO2 in space environments. It is hoped that advancements in the generation of suitable microbial substrates will spur interest in making complex organic compounds from CO2 that could also serve as feedstock molecules in traditional terrestrial chemical synthesis and manufacturing operations. Therefore, this Centennial Challenge is devoted to fostering the development of CO2 conversion systems that can effectively produce singular or multiple molecular compounds that are identified as desired as a microbial manufacturing ingredient, and/or a significant step toward producing advancing physicochemical CO2 conversion into desired molecules. Ultimately, this challenge seeks to produce readily utilized sugars for "feeding" heterotrophic organism that efficiently promote production of biomass and resultant mission bioproducts. 4. CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION The objective of this challenge is to demonstrate a solely physicochemical (no biological components) process/system that uses CO2 as the sole carbon source to produce selected carbon-based molecular compounds. The compounds of interest are provided in Table 1, and are listed with corresponding weighting values that indicate the desirability for use and/or advancing the technology, with higher values representing a more desirable compound.. The weighting value will be multiplied by the compound concentration as part of the scoring process. Table 1. Challenge target compounds and weighting value. Challenge Compound Weighting Factor D-Glucose 100 Other 6-carbon sugars (hexoses) 80 5-carbon sugars (pentoses) 50 4-carbon sugars (tetroses) 10 3-carbon sugars (trioses) 5 Glycerol 5 System demonstration shall be achieved in a typical laboratory scale environment, with all system components residing within a 25 ft2 footprint. 5. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION Presently the program is anticipating the challenge will award prizes at two phases of the competition. Phase 1: Synopsis Phase For this phase, the competitor will provide a preliminary design schematic and description of the system they plan to construct to demonstrate their technology in Phase 2. The synopsis, to be supported by rationale obtained from basic and/or applied research, will include primary components of the physicochemical conversion system, description of the process, the compounds they intend to target, the projected system mass/energy/size, and a targeted production rate. To be eligible for the prize, the synopsis must indicate a viable path to success, to include a list of assumptions, supporting calculations, and preliminary laboratory analysis data to support the contestant's ability to perform and analyze a successful CO2 conversion process. The teams will be requested to present their prototype design and discuss the data from the preliminary laboratory analysis with the judges during a webinar that will be scheduled with each participant team. Phase 1 submissions will be due six months after Phase 1 registration is opened. Awards of $15,000 each will be made to the top 5 competitors with the highest scores for demonstrating a viable approach to achieve Phase 2 goals. Phase II: Demonstration Phase Achieving Phase II success requires a demonstration of the system to the judges at the contestant's facility, followed by an independent laboratory analysis verification. The contestant's score will be determined based on 1) the specific compound(s) produced, and 2) the concentration and mass of the produced compound(s). The sample must be generated within a maximum of four continuous hours of system operation and provide 1.0 gram for verification analysis. In addition to providing the sample, the contestant must indicate the predicted compound(s) in the sample and approximate concentrations. The sample will be collected in the presence of a provided NASA representative and sealed in a provided container, and shipped to an independent laboratory for verification. Note, the sample will only be evaluated for up to five (5) target compounds that the contestant has demonstrated evidence for. The sum of the individual compound scores (weighting factor x concentration) will be used to evaluate the contestant's system. Any preliminary analysis during system development/assessment is the responsibility of the contestant. 6. DRAFT CHALLENGE RULES AND COMPETITION STRUCTURE • Team Registration - All teams must register by the given deadline to participate in the Challenge. • All teams are able to compete in and win either Phase 1 or Phase 2 separately, or both phases, in accordance with the rules stated below. • Phase 1 - Synopsis Phase (6 months) o Prior to the Phase 1 deadline, the competitor will provide a preliminary design of the system they plan to construct and demonstrate in Phase 2. The synopsis will include primary components of the CO2 conversion system, description of the process, the target molecules they intend to produce, their concentrations, and an expected production rate. The synopsis should also provide assumptions and calculations used to base their projections, along with any supporting preliminary data. o The five highest scoring teams demonstrating viable plans to achieve Phase 2 success will be awarded $15,000 each. o Evaluation of the Phase 1 submissions will be based on the following criteria: Phase 1 Scoring Criteria • Factor 1. Scientific/Technical Merit and Feasibility (Maximum Score: 50): Does the proposed effort offer a clearly innovative and feasible technical approach to meet the Challenge success criteria? Do the specific objectives, approaches and plans for developing and verifying the innovation demonstrate a clear understanding of the problem and the current state-of-the-art? Does the team clearly understand the risks and address them in their plan? • Factor 2. Experience, Qualifications and Facilities (Maximum Score: 25): Are the technical capabilities and experience of the team members consistent with the project approach? Does the team have access to the necessary instrumentation, facilities, and other resources required to conduct their research plan? • Factor 3. Effectiveness of the Proposed Work Plan (Maximum Score: 25): Is the plan adequate for the proposed work? Are the methods planned to achieve each objective or task properly addressed? Is the proposed schedule for meeting the Phase 2 objectives reasonable? o The Level 1 challenge officially ends 6 months after Phase 1 registration opens. • Phase 2 - Challenge (12 months) o Prior to the end of the 12 month period, contestants that seek to be evaluated will be required to notify NASA through the challenge website and send evidence that demonstrates the performance of their system. The initial step is to submit a video that shows the system in operation and provides evidence of satisfactory production. Additionally, a written description of the system with confirmatory data is required. Once the evidence has been reviewed by the judging panel, the team must perform an on-site demonstration for the judging panel to verify system performance parameters and to collect a product sample for verification. o After samples from all successful teams have been collected and analyzed by an independent laboratory, the team will be provided an official score based on the results and scoring criteria described in section 4. o The three highest scoring teams will be awarded the following prizes: • 1st Place - $175,000 • 2nd Place - $150,000 • 3rd Place - 100,000 o Additionally, a bonus prize of $50K will be awarded to the team that produces molecules that are most desirable. o In the event of a tie, the judges will decide based on additional factors such as system design and process efficiency. o Phase 2 officially ends 12 months after Phase 2 registration opens for the Challenge. 6. INFORMATION SOUGHT This RFI seeks feedback on the anticipated competition structure, the prize amounts and distribution structure, and level of interest in competing in the Challenge. Positive feedback relative to interest in competing in the competition will influence the decision to proceed in this challenge. Responses on all sections are not required to submit a response, but more information will help with the overall formulation of the challenge. Specific requested information is as follows: a) Interest and Readiness • Are you interested in participating in this competition? • If not interested, would you or your organization be interested in participating as a judge or event sponsor? • What barriers limit your interest or ability to participate? How can these barriers be addressed in the timelines, requirements, and formulation of these challenges? • Are you familiar with or aware of existing physicochemical CO2 conversion systems that can produce sugars or similar molecules? • Do you have a concept on which to base a physicochemical CO2 to sugars production system? • Do you have a relevant production system ready or nearly ready to participate in this Challenge? What level of development and investment is needed before your system is ready to participate in the Challenge? • Are there specific emerging breakthrough technologies that are applicable to the Challenge goals? • What actions could be taken to increase public interest in participating in and following this Challenge? a) Competition Structure • Please remark on the benefits/drawbacks of the presented model of a simultaneous, head-to-head competition including the two-phase approach, and awards based on providing judges with an initial video and data package followed by an on-site demonstration. • Are the goals reasonable in relation to the schedule? • Are there performance attributes beyond the Key Challenge Requirements in Section 4 and the evaluation criteria in Section 5, such as minimizing resources, exceeding requirements, etc., that should be incentivized and rewarded with bonuses? b) Competition Awards • NASA is considering awarding up to $550K in prizes. How could the award structure best incentivize participation and technical progress? • Is the prize money sufficient to incentivize potential competitors? • Please comment on the award distribution structure being considered. Are there other alternative scenarios that would provide greater incentives to compete? 7. RESPONSE TO RFI Responses to this RFI must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time on June 29, 2018 To: Mr. David Howard at e-mail address: HQ-STMD-CentennialChallenges@mail.nasa.gov CC: david.f.howard@nasa.gov Subject Line: "Carbon Dioxide Conversion Challenge RFI" Responses should be submitted in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word format and are limited to five (5) pages in length. Responses should include: name, address, email address, and phone number of the responding individual, business, or organization, with point of contact for business or organization. 8. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Questions or requests specific to this RFI may be submitted prior to the closing date To: Mr. David Howard at e-mail address: HQ-STMD-CentennialChallenges@mail.nasa.gov, CC david.f.howard@nasa.gov Subject Line: "Carbon Dioxide to Glucose Challenge RFI Questions" For general information on the NASA Centennial Challenges Program see: http://www.nasa.gov/challenges. The point of contact is Ms. Monsi Roman, Program Manager, Centennial Challenges Program, Marshall Space Flight Center, email to monsi.roman@nasa.gov. 9. ELIGIBILITY NASA welcomes applications from individuals, teams, and organization or entities that have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable law (State, Federal or Country) and that are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized with the following restrictions: 1. Individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States and be 18 years of age or older. 2. Organizations must be an entity incorporated in and maintaining a primary place of business in the United States. 3. Teams must be comprised of otherwise eligible individuals or organizations, and led by an otherwise eligible individual or organization. U.S. government employees may participate so long as they rely on no facilities, access, personnel, knowledge or other resources that are available to them as a result of their employment except for those resources available to all other participants on an equal basis. U.S. government employees participating as individuals, or who submit applications on behalf of an otherwise eligible organization, will be responsible for ensuring that their participation in the Competition is permitted by the rules and regulations relevant to their position and that they have obtained any authorization that may be required by virtue of their government position. Failure to do so may result in the disqualification of them individually or of the entity which they represent or in which they are involved. Foreign citizens may only participate as (i) employees of an otherwise eligible US entity who reside in the US, (ii) full-time students at an otherwise eligible US university or college who reside in the US, or (iii) owners of less than 50% of the interests in an otherwise eligible US entity who reside in the US. Registered competitors shall be responsible for the actions of and compliance with the rules by their employees, subcontractors, officers, owners, and other affiliated persons.
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