Official UK procurement notice
The Supply and Delivery of a Multiphysics Model and Furnace Digital Twin
Authority: Glass Futures (Public body)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe procured services consist of the development of a fully visualised digital twin of the
Glass Futures plant. The project includes the development of a scientifically accurate
multi-physics furnace model (CFD, chemistry, mathematics and physics) capable of
performing digital experiments via 'what if...?' simulations programmed through a bespoke
graphical user interface (also part of this procurement). The digital twin will integrate with
the Glass Futures control system in order that it will display live, accurate, plant data.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 17 Nov 2025, 11:46 GMT
- Last source update
- 16 Dec 2025, 15:10 GMT
- Authority reference
GFL/2025/04- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-083460- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e24dFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Prototypes Development
- Published justification
We have directly awarded this contract under the Prototypes and Development criteria. The project involves significant technical uncertainty, rapid iteration, and close integration of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), thermodynamics, and glass melt chemistry with artificial intelligence and machine learning. These are highly specialised capabilities that cannot be sourced through a standard competitive procurement process without significantly increasing project risk. The supplier to which we have awarded the contract has a proven track record of high profile digital twin development using CFD-based approaches that can be a) have their parameters adjusted via a GUI to afford a fast, novel simulation environment and b) graphically visualised using state-of-the-art graphic rendering computed at the point of simulation. Moreover, they are experienced in the use of open-source development environments and are experienced in the integration of multiple data sources and development platforms
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
26 Nov 2025 → 16 Dec 2025 · 2 dates- Standstill ends328 days ago26 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Notice published308 days ago16 Dec 2025, 15:10 GMT
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 17 Nov 2025- Transparency notice published17 Nov 2025, 11:46 GMTUK5
- Contract award notice published17 Nov 2025, 14:01 GMTUK6
- Buyer details updated17 Nov 2025, 14:01 GMT
- Contract signature expected27 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published16 Dec 2025, 15:10 GMTUK7
- Buyer details updated16 Dec 2025, 15:10 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Liverpool28 Nov 2025 – 31 Mar 2026Options: Hosting and Support Services | £323,000 | 17 Nov 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
The Supply and Delivery of a Multiphysics Model and Furnace Digital Twin · University of Liverpool
- Signed
- 27 Nov 2025
- Value
- £323,000
- Period
- 28 Nov 2025 – 31 Mar 2026
- Status
- active
- Options
- Hosting and Support Services
No agreed KPIs: Unique, one-off, short -term contract
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeBidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- The University of Liverpool Awarded supplier
- University of Liverpool Awarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender