1. Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN):
An ACAN is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.
2. Definition of the Requirement:
The NRC’s Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre (ACRD) has a requirement for an automated Hydrothermal Hydrolysis System. This system allows for more reliable and true analysis of lipid content in downstream proximate analysis as well as can fully digest test biomass samples to liberate their individual components for more accurate component analysis. An essential component to proximate analysis is crude lipid measurements which uses widely accepted methods via solvent extractions (AOAC methods 920.39 and 954.02). This is essential for our on-going and emerging ACRD strategic focus into aquaculture nutrition, marine waste valorisation, and algae biotechnologies. Reliable data is critical for internal research and development, client-driven work, academic collaborations, and regulatory approval processes. Ten years ago, ACRD purchased a Soxhlet automated extraction unit that lacks a convenient, self-contained, and chemical-safe acid-hydrolysis pre-treatment system. This resulted in heavy use of other methods to measure crude lipids that routinely underestimate actual crude lipid contents. In addition, these methods consume considerable technician and instrument time (several days), whereas adequate automated solvent extractions can be reduced to hours rather than the typical 8-hour day. In addition, a new priority area of strategic focus for ACRD is in aquaculture and seafood waste-stream valorisation where biological materials must be fractionated and characterized for highly valuable biomolecules such as collagens, peptides, polysaccharides, among others, and all of these analyses rely heavily on appropriate and safe acid hydrolysis pre-treatment. The acquisition of a fully-automated, self-contained Hydrothermal Acid Hydrolysis System will allow for the enhanced utilization of our existing Soxhlet extraction unit in a safe and timely manner and it will support ACRDs on-going and emerging areas of strategic focus on aquaculture nutrition and whole fish utilization; while minimizing the requirement for operator contact with hot and highly corrosive acids.
3. Criteria for assessment of the Statement of Capabilities (Minimum Essential Requirements):
Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product/equipment/system (as appropriate) meets the following requirements:
3.1 The system must perform fat determination analysis in the measurement range of 0.1-100%;
3.2 The system must be fully automated, have independent operation, and must not require a technician present during runs;
3.3 The complete digestion and filtration process must run in a closed system, not requiring a fume hood or other ventilation;
3.4. The system must have sensors to monitor and adjust temperature, cooling water, dosing and concentration and fill levels in samples automatically;
3.5. The system must be able to process a wide range of biomass types from aquafeeds, grains, legumes, recalcitrant-celled algae to marine wastes. The
system must be able to process 1 g to 20 g of solids, and up to 50 ml of liquid samples;
3.6. The system must be capable of digesting six samples simultaneously;
3.7. The system must have treatment cycle times of less than 90 mins;
3.8. The system must have capacity to place only one sample in each digestion chamber, so no cross contamination possible;
3.9. The system must automatically (without any extra technician interventions) meter the hydrochloric acid into the sample beaker, hydrolyze the sample in boiling hydrochloric acid, and perform the complex filtration with all rinse operations completely automatically to neutralize the pH;
3.10. The system must have footprint less than 100 x 50 x 100 cm (W x D X H) with doors closed;
3.11 The system must be provided with HYDROTHERM Manager software;
4. This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s): Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA);
5. Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business: This procurement is not a set-aside for an Aboriginal supplier in accordance with the government Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business (PSAB). There are no known Aboriginal Businesses that can address the requirement.
6. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s): This procurement is NOT subject to the any comprehensive land claim agreements.
7. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier: The goods can only be supplied by YSI Corporation, YSI Corporation is the exclusive distributer for Gerhardt Analytical systems in North America. No reasonable alternative or substitute goods exist that can meet the minimum essential requirements listed in Section 3.
8. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s): The following exception(s) to the Government Contracts Regulations is (are) invoked for this procurement under subsection 6 (d) Only one person is capable of performing the work.
9. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons: Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Article 513 (1) (b) (iii): due to an absence of competition for technical reasons;
10. Ownership of Intellectual Property: Ownership of any Foreground Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will remain vested with the Contractor. NRC shall retain all Intellectual Property rights through research and development.
11. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier:
YSI Incorporated
1700/1725 Brannum Lane
Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387-1107 USA
info@ysi.com
12. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities
Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.
13. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities: The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is: October 17th 2023
14. Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
Johnathon Gillis
Telephone | Téléphone : 343-552-4124
Email | Courriel : Johnathon.Gillis@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
Address: 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa Ontario K1A 0R6
