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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Dilution Refrigerator for Cryogenic Characterisation of RF Hardware

NPL Management Limited · Transparency notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 2 Oct 2026, 13:26.

Opportunity overview

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: - Base temperature of less than or equal to 10 mK with access to PT2 and other intermediate stages for testing components at intermediate temperatures. - Mixing chamber plate area of at least 0.19m2 in horizontal space and vertical experimental apparatus - We do NOT require a magnet

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Published award value
£687k
Awarded
Not supplied
Award ID
1
Status
pending
Identifier
GB-COH 16183788
Location
Oxon, UKJ14, OX13 5QX, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-077f91
Status
complete
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen
The Authority previously conducted a competitive procurement for Contract Title under procurement reference Reference Number. The Authority concluded that no suitable tender was identified through the competitive procurement process. In accordance with section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023 the procurement was therefore terminated following a review of the authority's requirements and procurement strategy. The Authority now intends to make a direct award in accordance with section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
switchingDirectAward

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
NPL Management Limited
Id
GB-COH-02937881

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
02937881

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PYDB-8862-JBYM

Address

Street Address
National Physical Laboratory
Locality
Teddington
Postal Code
TW11 0LW
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI75

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicUndertaking
Description
Public undertaking
Organisation 2
Name
OXFORD NANOSCIENCE LIMITED
Id
GB-COH-16183788

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
16183788

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PXXT-7192-HBHM

Address

Street Address
Tubney Woods
Locality
Oxon
Postal Code
OX13 5QX
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ14

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Title
Dilution Refrigerator for Cryogenic Characterisation of RF Hardware
Status
pending
Main Procurement Category
goods
Above Threshold
Yes

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
38000000
Description
Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Value

Including VAT
824,400
Amount
687,000
Currency
GBP

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-16183788
Name
OXFORD NANOSCIENCE LIMITED

Contract period

Starts
14 Oct 2026, 00:00
Ends
14 Oct 2027, 23:59

Related lots

1

Documents

Entry 1
Id
093275-2026
Document Type
awardNotice
Notice Type
UK5
Description
Transparency notice on Find a Tender
Published
2 Oct 2026, 11:58
Format
text/html

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Due
14 Oct 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Teddington · UKI75 · TW11 0LW · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 093275-2026Transparency notice on Find a Tender ·