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ClosedFind a Tender · UK4

Dilution Refrigerator for Cryogenic Characterisation of RF Hardware

Buyer: NPL Management Limited →

View official notice ↗Official source

BuyerNPL Management Limited
StatusClosed
Deadline20 Jul 2026
Value£650,000
Published19 Jun 2026

What is being bought

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.

Delivery location

UK, GB

Categories

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

Lot details

Lot 1

No lot description published.

Statusactive
Value£650,000
Contract periodFrom 31 Aug 2026 to 31 May 2027
SME suitabilitySuitable for SMEs

Award criteria
Technical (60%)
Commercial (20%)
Social Value (20%)

What is included

ItemCategoryQuantity
1Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)Not published

Comparable-procurement analytics

Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 38. The category anchor is Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) (38000000); this is a deliberately broad market comparator. The comparison is shown at several levels rather than pretending one company or region is always the best benchmark.

Comparison setProceduresReported bids per procedureNamed award suppliersPrice evidence
Market: CPV division 389052 median · 11.1 average (278 of 905 with a bid count)3.2 average (317 of 905 with named award suppliers)Not published
Same buyer12Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Delivery region: UK24710 median · 40.9 average (39 of 247 with a bid count)10.9 average (46 of 247 with named award suppliers)Not published
Similar published value (0.5×–2×)792 median · 3.7 average (3 of 79 with a bid count)1 average (3 of 79 with named award suppliers)Not published

“Reported bids” is an official aggregate, sometimes reported per lot; it is the closest available competition measure. “Named award suppliers” are winners, not all applicants.

Price-outcome signal

Not enough comparable procedures currently publish both a GBP tender value and a usable lowest-valid-bid value to calculate a responsible price-reduction benchmark. Tenderline deliberately does not infer a saving from named award suppliers or from missing award values.

Procurement strategy & market signals

Framework agreementNot published
Dynamic purchasing systemNot published
Competitive procurementNot published
Recurring requirementNot published
Procurement method rationaleNot published
Rationale classificationsNot published
Special regimeNot published
Covered byNot published
Submission policyallowed
Selection criteriaNot published
Risk detailsNot published

Planning & early market engagement

BudgetNot published
No-engagement rationaleNot published
Planning documents0
Planning milestones0

No planning milestones published.

Related procurements

No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.

Documents & submission route

Source data inventory

Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.

OCIDocds-h6vhtk-06b5a7
Latest release ID058116-2026
Latest release timestampFri Jun 19 2026 13:05:24 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Sourcefind-a-tender
Official notice URLhttps://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058116-2026
Tender statusactive
Procurement methodopen
Procurement method detailsOpen procedure
Main procurement categorygoods
Above thresholdYes
Legal basis2023/54
Tender period: startNot published
Tender period: end2026-07-20T17:00:00+01:00
Expression of interest deadlineNot published
Enquiry deadline2026-07-07T17:00:00+01:00
Award period: startNot published
Award period: end2026-08-31T23:59:59+01:00
Submission method detailsDocuments - All information relevant to this opportunity can be found on the Central Digital Platform and LUPC Jaggaer e-tender portal. All Participants must register their company via the LUPC Jaggaer Portal. This can be done via the following link https://lupc.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml Any issues surrounding access and functionality of the LUPC Jaggaer System must be directed to Jaggaer Helpdesk on +44 800 069 8630 or email help@bravosolution.co.uk
Submission languagesen
Electronic catalogue policyNot published
Total tender value£650,000
Tender lots in source1
Tender items in source1
Tender documents in source2
Awards in latest release0
Contracts in latest release0
Parties in latest release1

Notice history

DateEventReference
19 Jun 2026tender058116-2026
16 Jun 2026planning056509-2026

All source data

Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.

Complete current OCDS release JSON
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Complete JSON history (2 releases)
19 Jun 2026 · 058116-2026 · tender
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16 Jun 2026 · 056509-2026 · planning
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