---
title: "Dilution Refrigerator for Cryogenic Characterisation of RF Hardware"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "NPL MANAGEMENT LIMITED"
published: "2026-06-19"
---

# Dilution Refrigerator for Cryogenic Characterisation of RF Hardware

Buyer: NPL MANAGEMENT LIMITED  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7

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## Summary

The procurement process, led by NPL Management Limited, involves a tender for a "Dilution Refrigerator for Cryogenic Characterisation of RF Hardware." Situated at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, United Kingdom, this procurement falls under the industry category of laboratory and precision equipment. It is currently in the Tender stage, with key dates including an enquiry period ending on 7th July 2026 and a tender submission deadline on 20th July 2026. The procurement is conducted via an open procedure, with an estimated total value of £780,000 and a contract period from 31st August 2026 to 31st May 2027.

This tender represents a substantial opportunity for businesses specialising in cryogenic and RF hardware equipment manufacturing and supply. Companies that can deliver advanced cryogen-free pulse tube cooled dilution refrigerator systems, equipped with thermometry and coaxial lines suitable for quantum circuits and RF measurements, would be well-suited to compete. The procurement favours small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), providing an excellent platform for competitive businesses to demonstrate technical and commercial prowess, with a focus on quality and social value.

## Notice

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is seeking engagement from suppliers who can provide "Dry" ("cryogen-free") pulse tube cooled dilution refrigerator system to be used for characterisation of quantum hardware including RF and quantum circuits with sample volume under vacuum. The system should include thermometry and associated wiring and readout electronics with provision to integrate additional temperature sensors in future for comprehensive diagnostics. The purpose is to complement our existing measurement systems and add measurement capability, for characterisation of quantum and RF hardware with high throughput and faster cooldowns repeated typically every 2 weeks. The dilution refrigerator needs to be suitable for RF measurements of complex quantum circuits and hardware, meaning it must be equipped with 20+ coaxial lines with provision to further increase the number of coaxial lines in the future. These lines must include high attenuation input lines suitable for use with sensitive quantum devices such as superconducting qubits and parametric amplifiers and low-loss output coaxial lines suitable for use with low-noise amplifiers, isolators and parametric amplifiers. Some of these coaxial lines must operate up to 40 GHz with provision to integrate even higher frequency RF cabling in the future. There should be sufficient number of DC lines with sufficient reconfigurability to enable biasing of at least tens of RF multi-way switches, at least four low noise amplifiers and few dedicated high resistance and low resistance DC looms for devices under test with provision to integrate more DC looms in the future. The asset must enable the characterisation of quantum and cryogenic RF hardware based on the following: 1) Base temperature of less than or equal to 10 mK with access to PT2 and other intermediate stages for testing components at intermediate temperatures. 2) Mixing chamber plate area of at least 0.19m2 in horizontal space and vertical experimental sample space below the mixing chamber with a height of at least 400 mm accessible for custom experimental apparatus 3) We do NOT require a magnet.

### Planning Information

Any submission received in response to this exercise will not constitute any contractual agreement between the respondent and NPL. Nor does the receipt of a response automatically include the respondent in the procurement process.
A Tender Notice will be issued to the market which will provide details of how the relating procurement documentation can be accessed and timescales for submission of the said tender response.
Interested parties shall bear their own costs of participation in this Market Engagement of whatever nature. NPL shall not be liable for the costs, expenses or losses howsoever arising (including, without limitation, any loss of profit or other economic loss incurred), regardless of the outcome of the Market Engagement.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058116-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning, Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 20 Jul 2026 |
| Future notice date | 19 Jun 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Aug 2026 - 31 May 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £650,000 |
| Lots value | £650,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Active |
| Lots status | Active |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NPL MANAGEMENT LIMITED |
| Locality | TEDDINGTON |
| Post town | Twickenham |
| Postcode | TW11 0LW |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI7 Outer London - West and North West |
| ITL 3 | TLI75 Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames |
| Local authority | Richmond upon Thames |
| Electoral ward | Teddington |
| Westminster constituency | Twickenham |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

## Release History

- 19 Jun 2026 at 13:05 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058116-2026
- 16 Jun 2026 at 09:57 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/056509-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058116-2026
  19th June 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/056509-2026
  16th June 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.npl.co.uk
- https://lupc.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-06b5a7. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7.json.