---
title: "Chemical Vapour Infiltration and Deposition of Silicon Carbide, Carbon, and Oxides"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0351be"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0351be"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0351be.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0351be.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY"
published: "2024-11-19"
---

# Chemical Vapour Infiltration and Deposition of Silicon Carbide, Carbon, and Oxides

Buyer: UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0351be

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## Summary

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has completed a tender process for the provision of "Chemical Vapour Infiltration and Deposition of Silicon Carbide, Carbon, and Oxides" under the procurement ID T/JM119/22. This procurement falls under the industry category of "Engineering-related scientific and technical services" and was conducted through a limited procurement method, following an invitation for response from eligible suppliers. The contract was awarded to Archer Technicoat Ltd on 19th November 2024. The key objective was to understand the capabilities of suppliers and the technical limitations associated with manufacturing silicon carbide fibre reinforced composites, especially for use in material testing for tokamak fusion reactors. The primary delivery location is the UKAEA Culham in the UK.

This tender offers substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in engineering and scientific technical services, particularly those with expertise in advanced material coatings and fibre composites. Companies can leverage this opportunity to expand their clientele within the high-tech fusion energy sector. The successful bidder, Archer Technicoat Ltd, exemplifies the type of SME that can thrive in providing specialised services and products where competition is limited due to technical requirements. The procurement aims to support innovation and industrialisation in fusion energy materials, presenting growth potential for businesses capable of meeting these advanced and highly specific technical needs.

## Notice

The purpose of this RFI is to have a better understanding of the capabilities for chemical vapour infiltration of fibre reinforced composites which currently exist. The materials of interest to be manufactured by chemical vapour infiltration or deposition (CVI or CVD) are silicon carbide fibre reinforced composites. The CVI materials will act as the interphase coating on the fibres, and the matrix. Interphase materials of interest include pyrolytic carbon, and rare earth oxides (eg. erbia) and silicates (eg. yttrium disilicate). Matrix materials of interest are silicon carbide, and coatings of interest are silicon carbide and rare earth oxides. Alternative methods of applying sub-micron scale interphases are also of interest.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The purpose of this RFI is to have a better understanding of the capabilities for chemical vapour infiltration of fibre reinforced composites which currently exist. The materials of interest to be manufactured by chemical vapour infiltration or deposition (CVI or CVD) are silicon carbide fibre reinforced composites. The CVI materials will act as the interphase coating on the fibres, and the matrix. Interphase materials of interest include pyrolytic carbon, and rare earth oxides (eg. erbia) and silicates (eg. yttrium disilicate). Matrix materials of interest are silicon carbide, and coatings of interest are silicon carbide and rare earth oxides. Alternative methods of applying sub-micron scale interphases are also of interest. The main objective is to find out supplier's capabilities to produce parts, and obtain an understanding of the possible size, and geometric complexity which can be achieved, including limitations on the supply of raw materials. These parts are intended for material testing, with potential application as structural materials in the blanket of a tokamak fusion reactor. The aims of this RFI are given in section 3.1. UKAEA wish to ask prospective suppliers to answer the requirements in section 3.2. Estimation of cost and timelines would also be appreciated to aid us in planning.

### Procurement Information

A PIN (Prior Information Notice) was issued in August 2022 for these services, and responses were invited from eligible suppliers via an RFI (Request for Information). Following this exercise, Archer Technicoat Ltd were found to be the primary UK supplier of these specialist services. Recent market engagement in 2024 has confirmed that Archer Technicoat Ltd are still the primary UK supplier for these specialist services, and therefore the award is justified on the grounds that the "services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator [because] competition is absent for technical reasons".

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037407-2024 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Nov 2024 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 13 Oct 2022 |
| Award date | 19 Nov 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £60,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £140,298 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY |
| Locality | ABINGDON |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX14 3DB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | South Oxfordshire |
| Electoral ward | Sandford & the Wittenhams |
| Westminster constituency | Didcot and Wantage |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | ARCHER TECHNICOAT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 71350000 - Engineering-related scientific and technical services

## Release History

- 19 Nov 2024 at 15:52 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/037407-2024
- 13 Jul 2022 at 16:41 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/019222-2022

## Notice URLs

- http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-atomic-energy-authority
- https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=50430&B=UK
- https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/72814
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-atomic-energy-authority

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0351be. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0351be.json.