Official UK procurement notice
Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) Demonstrator Plant
Authority: Energy Coast West Cumbria Ltd (t/a BEC) (Public body)
Energy Coast West Cumbria Limited, trading as BEC, invites tenders for the design, manufacture and supply of a factory-integrated, modular Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) demonstrator plant for the BEST CAES project at Westlakes Science Park, West Cumbria. The requirement comprises an above-ground, transportable system incorporating compression, thermal storage, expansion equipment, compressed-air storage vessels, power electronics and controls, together with specified testing, documentation, training and warranty support. Required performance includes 0.333 MW charging, 1.0 MW discharge and a minimum electrical round-trip efficiency of 80%. The maximum contract budget is £1,600,000 excluding VAT, with operational handover required by 30 June 2028.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionEnergy Coast West Cumbria Limited, trading as BEC, invites tenders for the design, manufacture and supply of a factory-integrated, modular Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) demonstrator plant for the BEST CAES project at Westlakes Science Park, West Cumbria.
The requirement comprises an above-ground, transportable system incorporating compression, thermal storage, expansion equipment, compressed-air storage vessels, power electronics and controls, together with specified testing, documentation, training and warranty support. Required performance includes 0.333 MW charging, 1.0 MW discharge and a minimum electrical round-trip efficiency of 80%.
The maximum contract budget is £1,600,000 excluding VAT, with operational handover required by 30 June 2028. Long-term paid maintenance and supplementary rapid-response hardware are excluded from this award. The procurement will follow an open procedure and is subject to funding, planning permissions and necessary approvals.
CPV: Air compressors · Engineering design services · Miscellaneous special-purpose machinery
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,600,000
- Economic & financial standing
Suppliers must have the legal capacity to enter into and perform the Contract and demonstrate sufficient financial standing and working capital to deliver its requirements. These conditions will be assessed on a pass/fail basis using the evidence requirements and methodology set out in the tender documents, proportionate to the nature, complexity and value of the Contract. Audited accounts are not required; unaudited accounts or other appropriate financial evidence will be accepted.
Suppliers must confirm that, if awarded the Contract, they will obtain and maintain the following insurance in accordance with the contractual requirements:
Public liability insurance: at least £10 million for any one occurrence.
Professional indemnity insurance: at least £10 million for each claim.
These insurance policies do not need to be in place before contract award.
- Technical & professional ability
Suppliers must demonstrate technical ability to design, integrate and commission comparable equipment through relevant projects or test evidence, named delivery resources and committed subcontractor support. Consortia and equivalent evidence are accepted; identical project experience and a minimum trading history are not required. Assessment is pass/fail, as detailed in section 4.1 of the Invitation to Tender.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (6)
- 1. Technical solution and performance: 30%
- 2. Delivery, installation and commissioning: 15%
- 3. Technical assurance and risk management: 10%
- 4. Operation, maintenance and through-life support: 10%
- 5. Project management and governance: 5%
- 6. Total price: 30%
Published award criteria (6)
- 1. Technical solution and performance: Integrated design, energy efficiency, capacity, response, controls, thermal management and scalability, supported by relevant calculations and test evidence. State assumptions and deviations.
- 2. Delivery, installation and commissioning: Achievable programme to handover by 30 June 2028, covering manufacturing, logistics, site interfaces, testing, dependencies and delay mitigation.
- 3. Technical assurance and risk management: Design verification, validation, safety/conformity evidence and project-specific technical risk controls. Assess assurance arrangements, not performance already scored under criterion 1 or supplier eligibility.
- 4. Operation, maintenance and through-life support: Maintenance planning, warranty support, spares, training, documentation, remote-support access and life cycle replacement evidence. Assess support and base deliverables, not monetary prices or non-awarded future service promises.
- 5. Project management and governance: Contract-specific responsibilities, reporting, quality records, escalation, change control and coordination with BEC and other contractors.
- 6. Total price: Evaluated Price E: fixed delivered base scope under section 3.5, excluding VAT, including supplier commissioning, testing, training, licences and issued warranty obligations. Informational long-term service/rapid-response prices are excluded from award and price evaluation.
- Economic & financial standing
Suppliers must have the legal capacity to enter into and perform the Contract and demonstrate sufficient financial standing and working capital to deliver its requirements. These conditions will be assessed on a pass/fail basis using the evidence requirements and methodology set out in the tender documents, proportionate to the nature, complexity and value of the Contract. Audited accounts are not required; unaudited accounts or other appropriate financial evidence will be accepted.
Suppliers must confirm that, if awarded the Contract, they will obtain and maintain the following insurance in accordance with the contractual requirements:
Public liability insurance: at least £10 million for any one occurrence.
Professional indemnity insurance: at least £10 million for each claim.
These insurance policies do not need to be in place before contract award.
- Technical & professional ability
Suppliers must demonstrate technical ability to design, integrate and commission comparable equipment through relevant projects or test evidence, named delivery resources and committed subcontractor support. Consortia and equivalent evidence are accepted; identical project experience and a minimum trading history are not required. Assessment is pass/fail, as detailed in section 4.1 of the Invitation to Tender.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £2,151,178 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Energy Coast West Cumbria Ltd (t/a BEC) buys Pumps and compressors (CPV 4212), and who usually turns up
Energy Coast West Cumbria Ltd (t/a BEC) has little published record in this market. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Pumps and compressors (CPV 4212) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 56 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid38%
2–350%
4–613%
7+0%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate55%
Within ±2%27%
Above estimate18%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 4212Published estimate£1.6m
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid7%
2–359%
4–630%
7+3%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 1 comparable award. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£1.5m–£1.6m
Estimate£1.6m
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £363m26 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | None on file | at estimate n=3 | |
NortemecanicaLarge | £292k3 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | None on file | at estimate n=2 |
Heb Group LtdLarge | £1.4m2 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs |
Hydrasun LimitedLarge | £517k5 awards in 36m · last 9 months ago | None on file | 23% below n=2 |
| £27k1 award in 36m · last 9 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder contracts appear on the Retender Radar, not yet in these figures.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 4 Nov 2026, 08:15 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Nov 2026, 08:15 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 22 Dec 2026
- Authority reference
BEC-CAES_031126- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-104461- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-079721Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 9 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 25 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
4 Nov 2026 → 5 Jan 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published3h ago4 Nov 2026, 08:15 GMT
- Today4 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 21 days25 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 35 days9 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 48 days22 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 61 days5 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published4 Nov 2026, 08:15 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Tender documentation for the procurement of an integrated Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) Demonstrator Plant, including the technical, commercial, contractual and tender submission requirements.
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender