Energy, Environment, and Demilitarization Technology Initiatives
The Army Contracting Command - New Jersey (ACC-NJ), on behalf of the Armament, Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC) is releasing this special notice to inform interested parties of the Government's interest in establishing a Section 845 Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with an eligible entity or group of entities to develop and mature technologies in the areas of Energy, Environment, and Demilitarization.
Section 845(a) (2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 1994, Public Law (P.L.) 103-160, as amended (Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) Section 2371 note), authorizes the Secretary of the Army (SA) to carry out prototype projects that are directly relevant to weapons or weapon systems. The Government must ensure that, when an agency enters into an Other Transaction Agreement for a prototype project under this authority, nontraditional defense contractor(s) participate to a significant extent in the prototype project; or at least one third of the total cost of the prototype project is paid out of funds provided by parties to the transaction other than the Federal Government.
The Government is seeking to collaborate with a consortium to perform a coordinated research and development program designed to attract new technologies and spur development of basic and advanced prototypes which are critical to DoD's near and long term energy, environmental, and demilitarization technology goals and objectives that are directly relevant to DoD weapons systems, allowing for the improvement of U.S. industry, university, and Government capabilities as required to sustain U.S. military supremacy in energy, environmental, and demilitarization technologies.
A consortium comprised of educational, nonprofit, and commercial organizations and with broad and open membership is required to provide the Government a partner able to collaborate across barriers that include military/civilian, public/private, local/regional/national, and political/jurisdictional concerns. The consortium should be open to new membership and display a broad array of expertise and experience, connected to energy, environmental, and demilitarization related technologies and applications.
The Government is seeking a Consortium to perform an integrated and coordinated research and development effort designed to encompass the following as it relates to energy, environmental, and demilitarization technologies:
- Leverage insights obtained via collaborative planning between the Government and Consortium members so that the Government is better informed on emerging technologies from the private sector and industry achieves greater understanding of emerging DoD operational needs that can be addressed with selected technology solutions.
- Reduce the DoD's reliance on fossil fuels and improve energy efficiencies within the Industrial Base and on mobile platforms.
- Advance the development of energy technologies to reduce the DoD's operational energy requirements.
- Reduce the DoD's energy demand, expand supply and build an energy-secure force.
- Advance the development of pollution prevention and mitigation technologies to sustain the Industrial Base and protect personnel handling potentially hazardous chemicals.
- Pursue the demonstration of novel techniques to treat hazardous pollutants at DoD testing and training ranges.
- Identify and act upon opportunities to gain system-wide operational efficiencies in the demilitarization of items from the DoD stockpile, with the goal of lowering the cost-per-ton of demilitarization.
- Pursue the development and implementation of designs, processes, tools and equipment for the cost effective end-of-life demilitarization of novel/new US DoD munition items and components.
- Pursue the development and implementation of designs, processes, tools and equipment for the demilitarization of other out-of-stockpile munition items and weapons systems including testing/training range residuals, production rejects, sea-dumped munitions, Captured Enemy Ammunition (CEA) and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW).
- Deliberately mature specified emerging technologies to the point of demonstrating the technology in an operationally relevant environment.
- Conduct research, including development and maturation of energy, environmental, and demilitarization technologies in a manner that enables effective transition of the technology to programs of record via early consideration of life cycle support aspects (affordability, manufacturability, sustainment, training, testing, etc.).
- Ensure the nature of the agreement facilitates and eases the entry of small and non-traditional companies, academia, etc. into this sector of the defense market.
The Government is seeking an established consortium with a collective expertise in the following technology objective areas related to prototype energy, environmental, and demilitarization technologies:
Energy Technology Sub Objectives:
01 Improved or Alternate Fuel Technologies for Weapons Platforms: Ideas and technologies should focus on improved or alternative fuel technologies for military vehicles and weapons systems that relate to improving range, endurance, and reliability of air, ground and naval weapons platforms and reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lead to lower risks to supply chain logistics.
02 Enhance Supply Chain Energy at Forward Operating Bases: The development of technologies to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities that are critical areas of risk for military missions. Innovative methods are sought to reduce the demand for supply chain energy to sustained tactical, combat and stabilizing operations. Key factors include transportation and distribution of energy to support manned weapon systems and platforms at expeditionary outposts, such as forward operating bases, combat outposts, and patrol bases.
03 Novel Weapon and Weapons Systems Energy Sources: The anticipated level of effort includes technologies that will result in reductions in the energy load of equipment carried by dismounted and mounted troops to reduce pack weight, extend patrol distance and lighten the logistics load and vulnerability of supply lines. Improvements in areas related to electronic efficiency, batteries that are longer-lasting and lighter, novel charging methods, and electro-textiles are examples of technology innovations needed to support the agility and maneuverability. Novel energy sources are needed for weapons and weapons systems to include the equipment to acquire tactical intelligence, communications, and navigation (GPS and micro- and nano -scale low-power navigation sensors in GPS denied or compromised areas).
04 Strategies to Reduce Energy Demands within DoD Industrial Base: The Government is seeking strategies designed to reduce energy demands at processing plants that support weapons development, manufacturing, testing, training and disposal. Additionally, innovative technologies are needed to reduce strategic vulnerabilities related to energy dependency throughout DoD processing plants to provide uninterrupted Warfighter support and weapons development.
Environmental Technology Sub Objectives:
01 Unexploded Ordnance and Remnants of War and Munitions Detection: The research and objective area is to provide prototype technologies to detect, characterize, remove and destroy or otherwise manage sites containing unexploded ordnance explosive devices and discarded military munitions. Novel technologies and strategies are needed to address munitions above and below the soil or sediment surface and that are detected as single items or in multiple quantities.
02 Sustainable Manufacturing, Maintenance, Testing and Training of Weapons and Weapon Systems: Novel prototype practices are needed to provide advanced capabilities to sustain weapons testing, live fire training, maneuver exercises, flight operations, other hands on experiences for the Warfighter at DoD weapon ranges, and sustain manufacturing capabilities of DoD weapons and weapon systems. Innovative methods and prototypes are needed to focus on pollution prevention and mitigation methods and strategies in order to minimize the environmental impact of the operations within the DoD industrial base and depots throughout the world.
03 Protective Prototype Technologies Associated with Life Cycle Operations of Weapons and Weapons Systems: The anticipated level of effort includes prototype technologies that can reduce the number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities associated with life-cycle operations for weapons and weapons systems.
Demilitarization Technology Sub Objectives:
01 Improve Efficiency of Conventional Stockpile Munitions Demilitarization Systems: Innovative and safe technologies are sought to improve the system-wide efficiency and effectiveness of US stockpile demilitarization systems. Improvements in equipment, processes, logistics systems, and other aspects of demil systems are subject to improvements in order to reduce operational costs and/or increase processing throughputs, as compared to existing systems. Research goals for the demil of conventional and chemical munitions are to identify, develop, and/or exploit innovative prototype technologies and processes that emphasize both operational and energy efficiency. Capabilities that maximize reuse and recycling of energetics and other munitions components will be considered if shown economically viable through a Business Case Analysis (BCA).
02 Develop Demil Strategies for Other Munitions and Weapon Systems: The objective of this research is to identify, assess, develop and validate designs, processes, tools and equipment for the demilitarization of US and foreign munitions, weapons system and related components that are not part of the US demil stockpile. Munition items and weapons systems requiring disposal include testing/training range residuals, production rejects, sea-dumped munitions, Captured Enemy Ammunition (CEA), including Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW). In some cases, these munition items are located in uncontrolled environments and require specialized or unique technology solutions to safely locate, assess, handle and dispose of the items.
03 Novel Designs and Plans for Demil Activities for New Munitions and Weapon Systems: The objective of this requirement is to pursue the development and implementation of designs, processes, tools and equipment for the cost effective end-of-life demilitarization of novel/new US DoD munition items and components, for which no demil method currently exists.
Information submitted should include your organization, personnel, facilities, membership network and past experience to meet specific needs stated above. Specifically, responses should contain the consortium's experience and capability information, to include consortium name, vision, mission statement, goals, membership (indicating traditional and nontraditional defense contractors), success criteria, metrics, management framework, articles of collaboration/by-laws, Consortium Member Agreement, accounting practices, fee structure and other information which the respondent considers of assistance in developing successful government/academia/industrial partnerships. In addition, the consortium shall provide a list of its members which are experienced in each of the prototype energy, environmental, and demilitarization technology areas listed in this notice, along with a description of their capabilities for the categories under which they have experience.
Interested parties shall submit all pages as a single (.doc or .pdf) file. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. No sensitive or classified information will be discussed. Foreign-owned, controlled, or influenced firms are advised that security restrictions may apply that may preclude their participation in these efforts.
This Sources Sought notice is for information and planning purposes only, and does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). It is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government. All information is to be submitted at no cost or obligation to the Government. The Government is not obligated to notify respondents of the results of this survey. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND DOES NOT OBLIGATE THE GOVERNMENT TO ISSUE A SOLICITATION. Electronic submittals are preferred.
Any responsible/interested sources shall submit their qualifications and capabilities within thirty (30) business days of this notice to: U.S. Army Contracting Command - New Jersey, ATTN: ACC-NJ-ET, Mr. Peter W. Gerhard, Bldg. 9, Picatinny, NJ 07806-5000 or submit the information electronically to the email address: peter.w.gerhard.civ@mail.
Peter Gerhard, 973-724-1469
ACC - New Jersey
