EN01_Invitation_Tender_Cotenary_Systems_425.2026.9347669.pdf

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rednet ot noitativnI

Invitation to Tender

of the German

Aerospace Center

(Deutsches Zentrum

für Luft- und

Raumfahrt e. V.)

Delivery of Catenary systems

for high throughput P8.3

to the DLR Lampoldshausen

Site; reference number:

425/2026/9347669

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Invitation to Submit an Application to Participate

Measure: Catenary systems for high throughput P8.3

Code number: 425.2026.9347669 (EKG/Year/GV)

Overview

☐ Restricted Tender according to § 16 VgV ☒ Negotiated procedure with Competitive Tender according to § 17 VgV

Submission Deadline for the Applications to Participate (Deadline for Participation): 09.11.2026, 10:00 am/pm (time of receipt, preclusive period)

Enquiry deadline: 29.10.2026, 10:00 am/pm (time of receipt)

Dispatch of the invitation to submit a tender: Expected 16.11.2026

Submission deadline for the tenders (deadline for the submission of tenders): Expected 18.11.2026, 10:00 am/pm (time of receipt, preclusive period)

Discussions / negotiations with candidates: Expected to be from 11.01.2027

Dispatch of invitation to submit optimised tenders: Expected 15.01.2027

Award deadline and binding period: 28.02.2027

The contracting authority reserves the right to modify the timetable while maintaining the principles of transparency and equal treatment under public procurement law principles.

In addition to the stipulations in the "Description of the details of the implementation of the procedure in the competitive bidding", the stipulations of the announcement text also apply; they also form the basis for the conditions presented here.

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I. Project Object (type and scope of the service)

The P8 facility in Lampoldshausen is a test site for research into high-pressure combustion in rocket engines and the associated testing of turbopumps. The specially designed P8.3 test cell is used for this purpose. While supply lines for low and medium mass flow rates already exist at P8.3, lines for high mass flow rates are required. These lines are the subject of this tender. The scope of work covers the complete design, manufacturing and delivery of two supply line sections including turbine flow meters and interface valves - for the LOX and fuel feed lines at P8.3 (DN100 size, designed for an interface pressure of 14.5 bar). As the media involved are cryogenic, the lines must be vacuum-insulated. Further information can be found in the attached Specification of Services dated 07.10.2026 (contract documents).

Please note: As the tender specifications and their annexes are confidential documents, the tenderer must first sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Tenderers must upload this along with their tender documents. Once this duly signed non-disclosure agreement has been submitted, the tenderer will receive the full tender specifications in the second phase of the tender process – together with the invitation to tender.

II. Instructions and Conditions for the Execution of the Procedure

1. Process in a negotiated procedure with a call for competition pursuant to Section 17, para. 1 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV)

In the first step, public competitive bidding is held. Here, the candidates are reviewed on the basis of their applications to participate according to the criteria of the minimum requirements (exclusion criteria). This pre-supposes that an application for participation by the candidates is received by the awarding authority on time. The application must be formally correct and complete so that it can be further reviewed. All the specifications and the application for participation can be found in the tender documents in the section to be completed by the candidate. Under no circumstances should you send us any tenders until the conclusion of this first stage – i.e. the competitive bidding.

After the completion of this first stage, the suitable candidates are actively invited by the awarding authority to submit a binding initial tender. With this invitation, the second stage of the award procedure has started for these successful candidates. From then on they will act as act tenderers in the procedure.

2. Notes on the Use of Electronic Means in the Award Procedure, Section 11, para. 3 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV)

a) Electronic means used The award procedure is executed exclusively via the largely browser-independent application of the e-tendering solution subreport ELViS. The data is transmitted via an encrypted Internet connection

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using a current Internet browser. The exchange of messages is handled exclusively via the platform's internal messaging system, which also includes a notification function with e-mail.

Applications to participate, tenders or confirmations of interest can be drawn up and transmitted as a matter of principle in any file format (PDF, Word, Excel, RTF, text, JPG, ZIP, etc.). The documents are transmitted via the Internet browser and encryption is carried out directly via the browser in accordance with the valid encryption standard (3072 bit). The component used to encrypt documents is the BSI-certified SecSignature plug-in of the firm SecCommerce.

A valid e-mail account is required for registration on the subreport ELViS platform.

The electronic submission of the documents is mandatory. The Application to Participate is to be submitted in text form (Section 126b BGB (German Civil Code)). This means that the name of the person authorised to sign in plain text in the required places is sufficient. Filling out coded forms does not constitute a change in the tender documents. The maximum file size is limited to 120 MB for each file.

b) Technical parameters for the submission of applications to participate, tenders and confirmations of interest by electronic means The candidate / tenderer requires: • an Internet connection, • an Internet-compatible computer with a recommended screen resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels, • the Microsoft Windows operating system (from Windows XP SP3), MacOS X or Linux, • an up-to-date Internet browser (Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera or Safari) and • a currently valid e-mail address.

c) Encryption and time recording methods used The connection to subreport ELViS is established exclusively via the secure HTTPS protocol and 256- bit encrypted. The connection uses TLS 1.2. SHA2 is used for message authentication. All tender documents, applications to participate or confirmations of interest are encrypted with PKCS#7.

3. Requirements for the Application to Participate

a) Form in which applications to participate are to be submitted Applications to participate which are submitted electronically must be fully uploaded by the submission deadline. However, candidates are free to process and upload their application to participate again until the deadline expires. Applications to participate which do not comply with the specified form will be excluded from the further award procedure pursuant to Section 57, para. 1(1), para. 3 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV).

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b) Completeness of the applications to participate All documents together with the necessary suitability documents must be submitted with the application to participate. The application to participate must be complete and binding and must contain all the declarations and details that are. Incomplete applications to participate are excluded from the further award procedure according to Section 57, para. 1(2), para. 3 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV).

You can provide evidence of suitability or the non-existence of grounds for exclusion in accordance with the requirements of the “Information and Special Application Conditions" via Pre-Qualification Database (Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK)), which is freely accessible to the Procurement Office of the BMI. In this case, please enclose the certificate of the pre-qualification body, including your certificate code, in the application to participate. Please note in this case that the verifications contained in the pre-qualification database fully satisfy the minimum conditions required in this award procedure (e.g. minimum loss amounts of the professional/business liability insurance, details of reference contracts, presentation of the tenderers). If the verifications in the pre-qualification database do not fully meet the requirements, additional proof and information must be enclosed with the Application to Participate.

c) Deadline for participation Applications to participate must be submitted by the above stated date. The deadline for participation is a preclusive period. applications to participate that are received late will be excluded from the evaluation in accordance with the requirements of Section 57, para. 1, part 1, para. 3 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV), unless the candidate can show that it is not responsible for the delay. The risk of timely delivery lies with the candidate.

d) Changes to the candidate's entries and changes to the tender documents Changes and supplementations to the specified tender documents are not permitted and shall result in the exclusion of the application to participate from the further award procedure pursuant to Section 57, para. 1 (1), para. 3 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV). Any contractual conditions attached by the candidate will not be considered part of the contract. Insofar as the candidate considers that explanations are required for the evaluation of the application to participate, these explanations are to be enclosed in separate attachments.

Until the expiry of the deadline for participation, the application to participate can be withdrawn electronically via the tendering platform in text form, in writing, by fax or telegram. This is also possible for subsequent corrections or changes to the applications to participate up to the deadline for participation.

Any changes made by the candidate to its entries must be made in an unambiguous and document- proof form, cf. Section 57, para. 1 (3), para. 3 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV).

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4. Application Conditions

a) Proof of suitability The candidates must prove their suitability and the non-existence of grounds for exclusion with their application to participate to the extent required by the contracting authority – see Section 48 of the Public Procurement Contract Tender Award Ordinance (VgV). The contracting authority provides the “Suitability Form” for this purpose. If the application to participate is short-listed, self-declarations (including those of the other designated undertakings) must be confirmed on separate request by presentation of the certificates referred to from competent bodies. Certificates which are not drawn up in German are to be accompanied by a translation into the German language.

b) Groups of Candidates/Bidding Consortia The group of candidates is associations of several independent undertakings which jointly pursue the goal of receiving the contract and, after successful conclusion of the contract, carrying it out as consortium.

When submitting their application to participate, groups of candidates must name all members of the group of candidates and specify the type and state the scope of the respective part of the service to be provided by the individual member. They must also authorise a member as their representative for the submission of declarations in the award procedure and the execution of the contract and must undertake a commitment to be jointly and severally liable for all obligations arising in connection with the contract.

The “Declaration by the Bidding Consortium” form is provided for the details that are to be communicated, the authorisation and the commitment referred to above. Together with the application to participate, the form “Suitability Form" must also be submitted for each member.

In order to prove suitability, the required proof of suitability must also be submitted with the application to participate for each member according to its scope of services.

c) Reliance on the resources of other undertakings in order to ensure suitability, Section 47 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV) If the candidate intends to make use of the services of other undertakings for the performance of a contract in order to ensure that it has the required economic, financial, technical and professional ability at its disposal (the “borrowing” of such capabilities from other undertakings in order to ensure suitability), it must specify the capacities provided for this purpose in its application to participate. The candidate must show in its application to participate that it will have the necessary capacities of the other undertakings at its disposal in the event that its tender is accepted, that these undertakings are suitable and that there are no grounds for exclusion with respect to these undertakings. It is required to provide the name, indicate the legal representative and contact details of these undertakings and to submit declarations of commitment from these other undertakings. For this purpose, the contracting authority provides the so-called "Declaration of Commitment for

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Subcontractors/Reliance on the Resources of other Undertakings in order to Ensure Suitability" form.

If the candidate makes use of the capacities of other undertakings with respect to the criteria for economic and financial ability within the context of such a so-called " reliance on the resources of other undertakings to ensure suitability ", these undertakings must be jointly liable for the execution of the contract; the declaration of liability must be submitted together with the application to participate.

If the candidate makes use of the capacities of other undertakings in order to provide evidence of the required professional ability or relevant professional experience, these other undertakings must provide the services for which these capacities are required (Section 47 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV)).

The use of the capacities of other undertakings for professional expertise or professional experience is only possible if these undertakings carry out the work for which these capacities are required.

d) Subcontracts, Section 36 of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV) If the candidate intends to have parts of the work sub-contracted to third parties, it must state in its application to participate whether subcontracting is envisaged and, if so, which services are to be subcontracted. In the case of intended sub-contracting, the intended subcontractors must also be named – insofar as this is reasonable – (Section 36 Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV). For this purpose the contracting authority provides the form "Declaration of Commitment for Subcontractors/Reliance on the Resources of other Undertakings in order to Ensure Suitability".

At the separate request of the awarding authority, the candidate must prove, at a time to be specified by the awarding authority before the contract is awarded, that the subcontractors which are envisaged are suitable for the services to be provided by them and that there are no grounds for exclusion with respect to the subcontractors. The candidate must also provide the awarding authority – upon its separate request – with the name, the identity of the legal representative and the contact details for these undertakings and submit corresponding declarations of commitment from the subcontractors.

The candidate must replace subcontractors with respect to which there are grounds for exclusion or which do not meet the corresponding suitability criterion within a time limit to be specified by the awarding authority.

For an undertaking that provides a service, the candidate must provide evidence of the professional ability required for the service, such as proof of training and professional qualifications or the relevant professional experience. In this case, the candidate must prove the suitability of the subcontractor at the separate request of the contracting authority before the contract is awarded.

The subsequent contractor is to inform the contracting authority of the names, contact details and legal representatives of its subcontractors no later than at the time when the execution of the

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contract is started. Any change at the subcontractor level which is carried out during the course of the execution of the contract must be notified to the contracting authority immediately in writing.

e) Reimbursement of costs No remuneration will be paid for the preparation of the Application to Participate or for the entire participation in the award procedure. Any costs that are incurred will not be reimbursed.

f) Award according to lots There is no splitting of lots. The application to participate must cover the entire range of services.

g) Authorisation of Secondary Tenders Secondary tenders are not permitted in the bidding phase. Secondary tenders are excluded from the further award procedure according to Section 57, para. 1(6) of the Ordinance on the Award of Public Contracts (VgV).

h) Anti-competitive agreements Applications to Participate submitted by candidates who take part in an anti-competitive agreement in connection with this award procedure will be excluded from the further award procedure.

We reserve the right, provided that all formal and substantive requirements are met, to award the contract to the first bidder and to dispense with the tender process.

5. Ambiguities, Questions from Candidates and Site Visits

a) Ambiguities, questions from tenderers If the tenderer has any questions regarding the invitation to tender, including all of the tender documents, these questions are to be asked exclusively on the tendering platform www.subreport- elvis.de , stating the ELVIS-ID under the "News" menu item by the above stated date.

Should contractual questions arise, these are to be clarified exclusively during the tender period via the bidder questions. Changes to the terms and conditions of the contract are not permitted in the tender and will lead to exclusion and are also not possible after the tender deadline! The bidder’s enclosed general terms and conditions do not lead to exclusion, but do not apply.

Telephone enquiries will not be answered in order to ensure equal treatment and transparency. Supplementary or corrective details or information will be published in German on the tendering platform www.subreport-elvis.de , for which the ELViS-ID has to be entered. It is the tenderer's responsibility to consult this publication location before the deadline for the submission of the tender has expired and to inform itself there of the current status of the award procedure. Answers that refer to contractual conditions or to the Specification of Services also become a binding part of the contract.

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Site inspection No site inspections are planned. Should a tenderer wish to visit the site, it must inform the contracting authority of this without delay after receipt of the tender documents. The contracting authority will take a decision on such a request within a short time. Provided that the contracting authority takes a positive decision, all tenderers will be offered a site visit for reasons of transparency and equal treatment.

III. Review and evaluation of the Applications to Participate

1. Formal Examination Requests to participate received on time will be checked for completeness and accuracy. In particular • the timeliness of the submission of the request to participate, • the presence of all required signatures, • the availability of all required suitability documents and • compliance with the formal requirements specified by the contracting authority. checked.

2. Substantive Examination - Examination of Suitability Failure to submit the suitability criteria will result in mandatory exclusion from the further tender review. The award criteria are evaluated on the basis of the evaluation matrix.

Proof of suitability and minimum requirements (exclusion criteria) The contracting authority will then check the absence of grounds for exclusion and any self-cleaning in accordance with Section 125 GWB and, if necessary, make a decision on the exclusion of the applicant in accordance with the legal requirements.

• Proof of registration in a professional or commercial register. Proof is provided in the form of a current extract from the register or a copy thereof (the extract should not be older than three months at the time of the deadline) or a comparable document. Foreign applicants can provide proof of registration in the respective professional or commercial register of their country of residence by submitting corresponding documents in accordance with local regulations.

• Applicants must state their turnover for the last three completed financial years.

• Working language It should be noted that at least one person must be proficient in German in order for the construction work to be carried out on site. (See "Suitability Form")

• References Specification of at least three references comparable to this order, demonstrating the design and manufacture of cryogenic, vacuum-insulated piping systems. At least one system involving liquid hydrogen must be specified. The specific system installed must be described in detail.

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Note: At least one reference must have been carried out in Germany and two in Europe. The bidder must therefore demonstrate familiarity with German and European regulations, such as occupational health and safety in particular, since these vary across Europe.

• Personnel Welders must be certified to at least ISO 9606-1

• Language in which the requests to participate must be written All parts of the request to participate must be written in German/English.

• Company profile/presentation of the company The applicant must enclose a company profile with the following information with the participation documents: • Date the company was founded • Locations of the company • Legal form of the company • Commercial Register Court • Sales tax ID no. (USt–ID) • No. of Identification (Leitweg-ID) • Classification as an SME • Classification as Start Up • Listed on the stock exchange • Nationality of the beneficial owner of the company • Description of the core business Please note: Start-ups must also complete and submit the form for start-ups!

• Self-Declaration “BMWK-Russia” Regulation 2024/1865 extends Regulation 833/2014, which prohibits re-export to Russia and re- export for use in Russia, to Belarus. The bidder declares with the self-declaration pursuant to Article 5k of Regulation 833/2014 that its business activities also do not extend to Belarus.

• Self-Declaration ARC • Self-Declaration MiLoG • Self-Declaration ILO

Clarification of applications for participation The contracting authority may clarify the contents of the requests to participate and the tender documents and request additional documents. The principles of equal treatment and non- discrimination shall be observed.

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IV. Follow-up Checks/Lodging of Appeals, Section 155 et seq. of the ARC

Official designation: Vergabekammer des Bundes (Federal Public Procurement Tribunal) Postal address: Kaiser-Friedrich-Str. 16 City / Postcode: 53113 Bonn Country: Germany Telephone: +49 228 94990 Email: vk@bundeskartellamt.bund.de Fax: +49 228 9499163 Internet address (URL): http://www.bundeskartellamt.de

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