Procurement at UKAEA
Information for those looking to become a supplier or contractor for the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
Social Value
We implement procurement best practice by focusing on achieving value for money, transparency and seek to treat all contractors (including SMEs) fairly and equitably and recognise the important contribution that small businesses can make to the delivery of our organisational objectives and strategies. See UKAEA’s Supply Chain Charter for more information about our approach to procurement, and our Social Value Charter for how we aim to generate additional benefits from our procurements.
Social value is of great importance to UKAEA, and we have been developing processes to ensure this is represented throughout UKAEA’s staff and culture. UKAEA has regularly engaged with the supply chain on how we can successfully employ social value, in a way that can be met by the wider supply chain.
The goal of fusion research is to provide a low carbon energy source for the second half of this century. Whilst on the path to sustainable fusion energy, we aim to make our progress as environmentally friendly as possible. UKAEA takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and ensures all statutory obligations relating to waste management and discharges to the environment are strictly complied with.
UKAEA has a target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. These ambitions form the focus of our Sustainability Strategy, which outlines the main sustainability aspects related to UKAEA’s operations, our plans for addressing these and the rationale behind the adopted approach. More information on our sustainability goals and performance can be found in our Annual Report and Accounts for 2022/23.
Our Modern Slavery Statement for the financial year 23/24 outlines our due diligence and how we are mitigating the risk of modern slavery. We encourage our suppliers to read our statement to understand UKAEA’s policies in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking.
Opportunities
Our external spend is in excess of £200 million per year and covers a wide range of opportunities for suppliers.
UKAEA manages and posts opportunities through EU Supply to the platforms Contracts Finder and Find a Tender. Contracts Finder is a one-stop-shop for suppliers to identify contract opportunities. For opportunities above Public Procurement thresholds, we advertise on Find a Tender.
Expressions of interest, requests to participate or enquiries, where applicable, should be submitted directly to the Procurement representative named in the advertisement who is responsible for that package of work via EU Supply.
Selection questionnaires (SQs) will be clearly stated within the procurement advertisements and will require submission of information about competencies, qualifications, organisation and relevant experience for the particular project advertised.
UKAEA is an executive non-departmental public body and operates in accordance with UK Government Policy. It is essential that a valid purchase order is in place before commencement of any works, supplies or services for, or on behalf of UKAEA. Failure to operate in accordance with this requirement will restrict enablement of payment. In effect no order no payment. Please see managing public money for more information.
Due to the actions of the Russian government, UKAEA will not be conducting any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian/Belarusian entity. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian/Belarusian source, even if not necessarily the Main Contractor. When conducting business with UKAEA, the supply chain should confirm they are wholly aligned with this policy.
The UK stands with Ukraine; Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state. The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions, which are an egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter.
Procurement Pipeline
UKAEA’s Procurement Pipeline is reviewed and published every quarter and outlines probable, upcoming procurement opportunities with relevant details such as the responsible procurement officer who can be contacted for more information.
Note that information may be subject to change.
Routes to market
We use a number of methods to purchase goods and services. The approach taken will depend on the contract value, type of product/service, the complexity of the requirement and the duration of the agreement.
-
Direct orders – Low value off the shelf purchases (current threshold <£20,000). Demonstration of value for money is required as well as 3 quotations provided. A simple purchase order with terms and conditions is issued for low value purchases. See for more information.
-
Frameworks – A framework agreement is an agreement or arrangement by UKAEA with one or more suppliers that establishes the requirement and contract conditions that will apply to future orders or tasks (contracts) that UKAEA may enter into during the period for which the framework agreement is established. Frameworks enable UKAEA to place orders or tasks under the framework agreement to participating, pre-assessed suppliers without having to undertake a full procurement exercise each time they wish to place orders or tasks. These may be Frameworks directly competed by UKAEA or via other Public Sector Bodies such as CCS (Crown Commercial Services).
-
Tenders – for procurements above £20,000, we utilise Contracts Finder and Find a Tender Service subject to financial value, whether above or below threshold. UKAEA operates all tender activity through EU Supply portal.
-
Pre-commercial procurements – Procurement of research and development to support to creation of new products and solutions to address unmet needs. These competitions generate new business opportunities for companies, provides SMEs a route to market for their ideas and bridges the seed funding gap experienced by many early-stage companies. Funding is contract rather than grant and therefore can be up to 100 per cent of project costs. Risk between the Authority and Supplier is shared, and any intellectual property developed will mostly belong to the Supplier.
Market Engagement
UKAEA recognises the pivotal role that market engagement plays in delivering sustainable fusion energy and maximising its economic benefit. Therefore, we have been adopting a continuous and consistent market engagement strategy from the earliest stages in order to strengthen relationships, instigate collaboration and foster the fusion industry growth.
As part of this approach, we host a series of scheduled events throughout the calendar year to continue engaging with supply chain and providing regular updates. These are held at three levels:
- UKAEA-wide
- Programme-specific
- Tender-specific.
For general UKAEA updates, we have developed an annual structure of Suppliers’ Events that we will host focusing on various aspects of UKAEA activities. These include an executive overview, a procurement overview, and an industry-focused event per annum.
Programme-specific events are scheduled when necessary to share updates or notify of increased activity in a specific area of UKAEA. These may be linked to sharing information on large packages of upcoming work or sharing changes and announcements as our programmes continue to evolve.
Lastly, UKAEA host regular pre-market engagement activities and industry days linked with specific ITTs and projects. This activity will always be advertised through Prior Information Notices on EU Supply. The aim of pre-market engagement activity is to ensure potential suppliers fully understand the requirements of tenders or to receive feedback from the relevant experts and develop innovative solutions.
To ensure the supply chain is kept up to date with our supplier events and industry days, there is an option to join our supplier mailing list. To find potential collaborators, consider registering to our Industry Directory and LinkedIn Supplier’s Network Group. Suppliers can also check our procurement portals for information on market engagement activities.
Supply Chain Newsletter
UKAEA’s Supply Chain Newsletter is published quarterly to provide updates on the organisation and its supply chain activities.
See our most recent publishing here: Supply Chain Newsletter, February 2024.
Information and links for all previous editions can all be found in our Supply Chain Newsletter Archive.
The Fusion Cluster
Fusion energy is too complex for any one organisation or even sector to achieve alone – which is why The Fusion Cluster was established in October 2021. It brings together private fusion companies, the supply chain, investors, government and academia to get to fusion faster.
The cluster is open to anyone in the UK working to realise the potential of fusion energy, plus overseas fusion energy providers with ambitions to operate here. The Fusion Cluster creates connections, facilitates knowledge sharing and helps organisations find the partners they need to advance their work on fusion.
For more information, including how to join, please see The Fusion Cluster website.
Contact the procurement team
Contact us at: procurement@ukaea.uk.
For supplier enquiries, contact us at: supplychain@ukaea.uk.