---
title: "Space Weather R2O Maintenance - University of Aberystwyth"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06c7d2"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06c7d2"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c7d2.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c7d2.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MET OFFICE"
published: "2026-07-09"
---

# Space Weather R2O Maintenance - University of Aberystwyth

Buyer: MET OFFICE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06c7d2

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## Summary

The Met Office has recently completed a procurement process involving the "Space Weather R2O Maintenance - University of Aberystwyth" project. This procurement falls under the research and experimental development services category, with a focus on enhancing space weather capabilities in collaboration with the University of Aberystwyth. The project, valued at £77,950, is set to operate from July 2026 to March 2027, with potential extensions up to 2030. This direct award was conducted without competition, ensuring continuity of existing support and maintenance systems, crucial for the ongoing development and alignment of operational requirements. The project is located in the United Kingdom, specifically the UK's South West and Wales regions.

This tender presents an excellent opportunity for businesses specialising in scientific modelling and operational support systems within the space weather sector. Firms with expertise in research and development services, particularly those capable of collaborating with academic and governmental bodies like the Met Office, may find this contract beneficial. Additionally, businesses with capabilities to deliver user-centric solutions and integrate advanced scientific models into operational frameworks are well-suited to compete in segments similar to this procurement. Such engagements can drive growth by fostering long-term collaborations in high-tech and government-backed projects.

## Notice

'Space Weather Implementation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk' (SWIMMR), was a PS19.9m UKRI SPF funded programme led by STFC from 2019, and which largely concluded in 2023. Several of the projects were targeted at space weather scientific modelling gaps, with the aim of bringing them into operation for forecast capabilities in the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC). The project 'S3' stood up systems and enabled collaboration between academic partners and the Met Office space weather programme, bringing a platform 'sandbox environment' and portal for monitoring outputs into use at the Met Office (MO) where our scientists worked with several academic partners to bring their models into use. Whilst the original SWIMMR programme made this collaboration possible, there is much work remaining to bring the models into working operational use by the target date of September 2026, the Research to Operations to Research (R2O2R) project is the next stage in this Programme. The Space Weather CSA with the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT) sets out a required output for the Met Office to Support the validation, integration and exploitation of new capabilities and data delivered through the SPF SWIMMR Programme. Met Office Space Weather (MOSW) has agreed with funding partner DSIT to deliver several targets for the next phase of work: Evidence of user need and user requirement to shape model use and output (MOSWOC being the primary user, with several end-users being the recipients of forecasting products). Technical and scientific requirements within MOSW for fully onboarding, working with and supporting the models and/or their outputs in operational settings. (Whilst the 'S3' platform and portal were helpful for the early stages of model collaboration, they are not able to support long term model and output development and operation). In terms of the projects to achieve modelling capability, we have agreed a number of these and their priority levels with the academic institutions who own the models. The partner, University of Aberystwyth, played a key role in the S4 projects within the SWIMMR Programme (2019-2025), where they developed critical components of the operational space weather capability. This included the CORTOM solar wind boundary model, which underpins the solar wind ensemble used to quantify uncertainties in CME arrival times associated with geomagnetic storm risk to multiple sectors (e.g. power grids). The University of Aberystwyth also developed the ACME automated CME detection tool as part of this system. For the R2O Maintenance follow-on contract, the University of Aberystwyth is uniquely positioned to provide continuity of support, maintenance, and incremental improvement of these established capabilities, ensuring their reliability, performance, and ongoing alignment with operational requirements.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064840-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 9 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 2 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £77,950 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MET OFFICE |
| Locality | EXETER |
| Post town | Exeter |
| Postcode | EX1 3PB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | Exeter |
| Electoral ward | Pinhoe |
| Westminster constituency | Exmouth and Exeter East |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | PRIFYSGOL ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services

## Release History

- 9 Jul 2026 at 14:40 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064840-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064840-2026
  9th July 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

## Provenance

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