---
title: "Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM)"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE"
published: "2023-12-22"
---

# Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM)

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997

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## Summary

The University of Strathclyde has awarded a contract for the "Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM)" to TownRock Energy. The University, based in Glasgow, UK, initiated the tender process with a focus on the Education industry category. The contract, valued at £99,998 GBP, was signed on 11th August 2023. The procurement stage was categorised as "Award" with key dates being the contract signing deadline.

This tender by the University of Strathclyde presents an opportunity for businesses in the services sector. Companies with experience in experimental system design and operation, particularly in the thermal energy sector, are well-suited to compete. The procurement method used was an open procedure, inviting suppliers to submit solutions for the STEAM experiment. The geographical location for delivery is in East Ayrshire.

## Notice

Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM)

### Lot Information

Lot 1

STEAM (short for GigaWatt-Hour Subsurface Thermal Energy storAge: Engineered structures and legacy Mine shafts) is a 2-year 1.2M GBP research programme funded by EPSRC and led by the University of Strathclyde. The STEAM project examines the potential to use abandoned mine shafts for interseasonal storage of curtailed wind energy in the form of thermal energy. In 2020, wind curtailment payments in the UK were 282M GBP: enough to power 1.25 million homes and equivalent to 4 GBP per MWh of energy generated. There is 120GW of 'spare' electricity in East Ayrshire alone. Thermal stores used previously are limited in size and by their need for insulation. Flooded mine shafts containing millions of cubic meters of water are ubiquitous across much of the UK, yet the thermal storage opportunity within shafts is unexplored. The rock mass around the shafts is a medium-quality insulator but pilot work by STEAM partners at the University of Edinburgh has shown that as the rocks heat up, the insulation efficiency rises considerably in as little as three years. We will investigate the feasibility of using the spare electricity on windy days to heat up water in abandoned mine shafts, to be extracted on cold days into homes and businesses. The UK is peppered with mine shafts from the days of coal mining - we want to turn these holes in the ground into thermal stores to help balance the electrical grid and to decarbonise homes and businesses. The University seeks the expertise of a suitably qualified and experienced supplier to submit a solution for the design and operation of the STEAM experiment. The experimental programme will be co-developed with the contractor and the STEAM delivery team in response to the baseline datasets as they become available (in the first 9-12 months of the contract), and limitations of monitoring. The delivery team are expecting approximately 4-5 experimental phases, each lasting 10-14 days, to take place in Q4 2023 - Q1 2024. The University is looking to secure the services of a single supplier, who will manage sub-contractors where needed, to deliver the listed objectives and requirements related to the safe establishment and operation of an in-shaft heating system and monitoring programme.

Options: The Contracting Authority reserves the right to request additional deliveries by the successful Tenderer, either intended as partial replacement of supplies or installations or as extensions of existing supplies and installations. The Contracting Authority may at its sole discretion exercise this option.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC495579 |
| Notice type | PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Dec 2023 |
| Submission deadline | 20 Feb 2023 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 11 Aug 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £100,000 |
| Lots value | £100,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £99,998 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE |
| Locality | GLASGOW |
| Post town | Glasgow |
| Postcode | G1 1QE |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM3 West Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM32 Glasgow City |
| Local authority | Glasgow City |
| Electoral ward | Anderston/City/Yorkhill |
| Westminster constituency | Glasgow North East |
| Delivery location | TLM82 Glasgow City |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | TOWNROCK ENERGY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 09 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
- 39 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products
- 42 - Industrial machinery
- 44 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

### Codes

- 09320000 - Steam, hot water and associated products
- 09323000 - District heating
- 39715200 - Heating equipment
- 42511110 - Heat pumps
- 42940000 - Machinery for the heat treatment of materials
- 44622000 - Heat-recovery systems
- 71321200 - Heating-system design services

## Release History

- 22 Dec 2023 at 00:00 - Award - PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC495579
- 23 Jan 2023 at 00:00 - Tender - PCS Notice - Website Contract Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN469298

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN469298
  Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM) - Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM)
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC495579
  Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM) - Design, commissioning and operating in-mineshaft heating experimental system (STEAM)

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.strath.ac.uk/
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997
- https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/

## 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-r6ebe6-0000719997. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000719997.json.