Official UK procurement notice
UKRI-5351 Large Vacuum chamber for Vulcan 20-20 Target Area-1
Authority: UK Research and Innovation (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Central Laser Facility (CLF) is developing a new high-power laser system, Vulcan 20-20, to support cutting-edge research in fundamental physics. The facility will enable experiments simulating extreme astrophysical conditions, particle acceleration, radiation generation, and fusion energy research.
These experiments will take place within a custom-built vacuum chamber designed to support high-power, high-energy laser interactions under controlled conditions. The chamber must meet stringent vacuum, structural, and safety requirements to ensure reliable and safe operation.
CPV: Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses) · Parts of vacuum pumps
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How UK Research and Innovation buys Pumps and compressors (CPV 4212), and who usually turns up
UK Research and Innovation’s published record next to the market for the same work. 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.
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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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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 South East 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.
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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 23 days of the bid deadline.
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How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
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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% / 43%
2–346% / 43%
4–615% / 14%
7+0% / 0%
How did awards compare with estimates?
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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 estimate36% / 45%
Within ±2%27% / 18%
Above estimate36% / 36%
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.
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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£1.5m
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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. The bar shows 32 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid28%
2–334%
4–631%
7+6%
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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.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
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.
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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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alca Technology SRLEarlier contract | UKRI-1688 EA1 Target Chambernotice published Nov 2022 | — | £239k | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
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.
- 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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- 7 Nov 2025, 10:17 GMT
- Last source update
- 7 Nov 2025, 10:28 GMT
- Authority reference
UKRI-5351- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-071909- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05dc72Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
7 Nov 2025 → 15 May 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published354 days ago7 Nov 2025, 10:17 GMT
- Market engagement333 days ago28 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
UKRI-STFC with be holding individual Supplier Engagement Sessions at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire on the week commencing 24th November 2025. The session will last no more than 2 hours and a maximum of two attendees from each supplier organisation to register for the session. The sessions will start at either 10am UK Time or 2pm UK Time. UKRI-STFC is flexible on having a meeting online or meeting onsite at RAL. If you are planning to be onsite arrival time to be 9:30am for 10 AM meeting and 1:30pm for 2:00 PM meeting.
The purpose of these discussions is to gain a clearer understanding of supplier capabilities, potential technical approaches, indicative costs, and any challenges or opportunities that could inform the final specification and tender documentation. The same information will be given to all suppliers who attend a session.
To book onto the Supplier Engagement Session, please submit the names, email addresses, contact phone numbers, whether your perference is online or in person and vehicle registrations (if attending onsite) to the following email address: [email protected], with the subject in the email being UKRI-5351 Vacuum chamber for Vulcan 20-20 Target Area-1-Supplier Engagement Session
Please can you also confirm a preferred date and time on the week of 24th November, and we will try and accommodate. Please confirm your attendance no later than 12pm (noon) on Friday 21st November. If you are planning to attend the meeting onsite you should bring photo ID with you to RAL otherwise you may not be allowed on site. The full address is; Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, OX11 0QX.
If you would like to review an overview of the project before registering for the supplier event to determine whether this requirement is suitable for you, please email [email protected] with the subject line: UKRI-5351 Vacuum chamber for Vulcan 20-20 Target Area-1 -Project overview document.”
- Tender notice expected256 days ago13 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts166 days ago15 May 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 7 Nov 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published7 Nov 2025, 10:17 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published7 Nov 2025, 10:18 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published7 Nov 2025, 10:28 GMTUK2
Published amendments (2)
Wrong year has been added to the notice
the wrong year was added to the notice, but this has now been changed. The supplier engagement will happen w/c 24th November 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- 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 (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender