Sole Source to SERDP Project WP18-1347

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) intends to award a sole source Cost type contract to Molekule, Inc. No competition is being sought.The original proposal was a response to a statement of need issued under BAA announcement, W912HQ-17-S-0001 in September of 2017, under topic area, WPSON-18-C2 entitled "Non-Chemical, Non-Media Removal Process for Thick, Elastomeric Specialty Coatings Used on DoD Weapon Systems". In that need statement, proposals were requested for specialty paint removal technologies that did not require solvents or a blast media. The purpose of this research is to develop a large-scale non-chemical, non-media removal process for thick, elastomeric coatings and treatments, such as rain erosion materials, sealants, and fuel tank coatings used on Department of Defense (DoD) weapon systems.In response to BAA W912HQ-17-S-0001, the principal investigator (PI), Dr. Jaspreet Dhau, a professor at Florida Polytechnic University (FPU), submitted a proposal entitled

"Introducing Interfacial Bond failure at the Elastomer-Primer Interface Using Tailored Infrared-Sonication Hyprid Technology". However, before this work could be put onto contract, the PI had accepted new employment with Molekule, Inc., located in San Francisco, CA.Molekule, Inc. is the now only responsible source that will satisfy agency requirements, because they employ Dr. Dhau. The original technical proposal was put forward by Dr. Dhau through FPU, but it is specific to his research and areas of expertise. As such, FPU has no desire or ability to pursue fulfilling this research requirement without him. The ideas and methodologies proposed for this research area are those of Dr. Dhau alone. It is therefore unlikely that award to any other source would be possible without resulting in substantial cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.The period of performance is 18 months.This is a special notice prepared in accordance with the format prescribed in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.2, Synopses of Proposed Contract Actions. A solicitation will not be posted.However, any firm that believes it can meet this requirement may give written notification to the Contracting Officer within 15 days of publication of this announcement. Supporting evidence must be in sufficient detail to demonstrate the ability to comply with the requirement. Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the Government to compete the proposed procurement based on the responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends on proceeding with awarding a cost type contract to Molekule, Inc.Point of contact for this requirement is Ms. Lina K. Nguyen at 703-428-6384 Lina.K.Nguyen@usace.army.mil.Address: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, HECSA, 7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22315.Contact Information: Lina Nguyen, Contract Specialist, Phone 7034286384, Email lina.k.nguyen@usace.army.mil Office Address :Attn: CEHEC-CT7701 Telegraph Road Alexandria VA 22315-3860 Location: USACE HEC, Ft. Belvoir Set Aside: N/A