Supply of a Hot Cell Gamma Shielding Window for the JRC Karlsruhe

European Commission tender EC-JRC/KRU/2026/OP/3973 seeks a supplier to design, manufacture, deliver and, if required, install a bespoke dry beta/gamma shielding window for hot cell 108 at JRC Karlsruhe with DDP delivery and factory, site and final acceptance. The contract is a supply contract (maximum duration 60 months: 36 months delivery, 24 months warranty), submissions must be made electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system and the deadline for tenders is 9 November 2026 at 12:00 Europe/Berlin. Award will be by lowest price among tenders that fully meet the mandatory technical, administrative and selection requirements; mandatory selection thresholds include average annual turnover above €780,000 for the last two closed financial years and professional liability insurance of at least €1,000,000 per event for installation entities. Tenderers must demonstrate at least three comparable supplies in the last five years including one reference in a radioactive hot cell environment and comply with all exclusion and integrity rules in the procurement documents.

Opportunity type

What is being procured

Design, manufacture, factory testing, delivery, installation and warranty of a bespoke dry (oil‑free) beta/gamma shielding window assembly for a hot cell at JRC Karlsruhe. The window must provide equivalent gamma shielding to the existing 900 mm concrete wall, be alpha‑tight on the cold side, meet ASTM/Atomic Energy inspection norms and include factory, site and final technical acceptance.

Footnotes

1. 1Tenderers must register in the Participant Register to obtain a PIC and submit via eSubmission. Selection criteria in the tender include average turnover (last 2 years) above €780,000 and professional liability insurance of at least €1,000,000 per event. See procurement documents on the portal for full eligibility and evidence requirements Tender documents.

Summary

This is a public procurement (open procedure) published by the European Commission, DG JRC - Joint Research Centre (JRC Karlsruhe). The contracting authority seeks a specialised supplier to design, produce, validate, deliver and install a custom dry (oil-free) beta/gamma shielding window to replace an oil-filled window in hot cell 108 at JRC Karlsruhe. The supply includes design acceptance, factory acceptance tests, transport, installation, provisional and final technical acceptances and a minimum two-year warranty period. The award method is lowest price for compliant offers.

Key administrative facts

Documents published with the call

What is being procured (technical scope)

Supply, factory acceptance and site installation of a custom beta/gamma shielding window for a concrete hot cell. The item will replace an existing oil-filled βγ window and must be re-engineered to a dry (oil-free) concept while preserving or restoring operator visibility, mechanical stability and shielding equivalence. The procurement includes detailed design (design acceptance), manufacturing, factory acceptance tests (including glass block inspection and lifetime quality records), transport DDP to JRC Karlsruhe, installation by contractor personnel with required security and radiation clearances, site acceptance testing, a six-month provisional operation followed by final acceptance, and at least 24 months warranty. Design and manufacturing shall follow standards such as ASTM C1572 (or equivalent) and AESS® guidance for shielding glass.

Place of performance

JRC Karlsruhe (Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, Building 811, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany). Design and manufacturing will normally be at contractor facilities (factory acceptance), delivery and installation at the JRC Karlsruhe address.

Eligible applicant types

The procurement is open under an open procedure to any economic operator within the scope of the EU Treaties, international organisations and entities from third countries covered by public procurement agreements (e.g. WTO GPA or association to the relevant Euratom programme). This therefore includes: startups, SMEs, large enterprises, manufacturers, specialised suppliers, research institutes, universities, NGOs if qualifying as economic operators, public entities and natural persons where legally possible. The call explicitly allows sole tenderers and joint tenders (consortia). Subcontracting is allowed with rules for identified subcontractors. Tenderers must be registered in the EU Participant Register and have a PIC to submit via eSubmission.

Funding type and financial mechanism

This is a procurement contract (supply contract) awarded by the European Commission on behalf of the JRC. The contracting authority will pay the contractor for the supplies and services according to the payment schedule set out in the contract. Funding type: procurement / supplies contract, direct purchase by the contracting authority.

Consortium requirement

Not mandatory. A single tenderer may submit or a group of economic operators may submit a joint tender. If a joint tender is submitted, an Agreement/Power of attorney (model in Annex 3) must be signed by all group members and a group leader must be appointed. All group members assume joint and several liability.

Beneficiary scope (geographic eligibility)

Target sectors and technologies

The procurement targets the nuclear safety / radiological protection sector. Relevant technical and technology areas include: shielding (lead and high density glass), high-density lead glass manufacturing, radiation physics, hot-cell engineering, remote handling interfaces, specialized optical/anti-reflective coatings for shielding glass, mechanical engineering for housing and seismic stability, sealing/gas-tight designs for alpha-tightness, high-precision machining and welding for containment housings, quality assurance and lifetime quality records, transport and installation of heavy radiation-protective components, and compliance with nuclear and safety-related norms.

Project stage expected

The required maturity is manufacturing-ready and installation. The call expects design, detailed engineering, manufacturing, factory acceptance testing, delivery and site installation. This corresponds to late development, production and demonstration/commissioning stages rather than early R&D or conceptual stages.

Estimated funding amount / contract value

The procurement metadata does not specify an estimated total value figure in the published summary. The tender documents (Invitation letter, Admin Annex, Draft contract, Technical Specifications) define milestone payments and contract duration but do not disclose a contract price in the public listing. Tenderers should consult Annex I and Annex II documents for any specific budget information and prepare full priced offers in euros.

Application method and stages

Nature of support to the successful contractor

Application forms and templates (how the tender is structured)

The tender package includes mandatory templates and model documents. Tenderers must upload required documents via eSubmission in the specified fields. The main templates and their intended use are:

Selection, exclusion and award criteria

Site security, radiation protection and contractor personnel requirements

Contractor personnel who will work at JRC Karlsruhe must comply with JRC and KIT site rules, hold valid identification, obtain access and visitor clearances, and may require medical examinations (e.g. G26/2 or equivalent) and radiation protection training. Respiratory protection training and annual instruction are required for certain tasks. The contracting authority will assist with administrative steps for clearance; contractor must provide names and ID data at least two working days before arrival for site visits and at least 15 days before arrival for personnel performing installation.

Transport, packaging and logistics

Standards and testing

Design and manufacture are to follow applicable European and international standards; referenced standards in the tender include ASTM C1572/C1572M and Atomic Energy Standard Specifications AESS® 44/70000/6. Technical inspections required: glass block optical and quality inspection (light transmittance, homogeneity, defect count), anti-reflective treatment verification, structural and seismic stability calculations, gas tightness and lifting tests, and demonstration of equivalent gamma shielding to the 900 mm concrete wall. Glass must meet radiation resistance thresholds (e.g., retain minimum light transmission after specified cumulative doses). Factory acceptance testing is mandatory before shipment; site acceptance and six-month operational verification are required for final acceptance.

Procurement constraints and evaluation implications

Variants are not permitted; tenders that include variants will be disregarded. Tenderers must meet all minimum technical requirements in the Technical Specifications; non-compliant tenders will be rejected. The award is based on lowest price, but only among technically compliant tenders. The contracting authority may seek clarifications and additional evidence during evaluation; absence of requested evidence by deadline may lead to rejection. Detection of abnormally low tenders and checks for irregularities, fraud and conflicts of interest will be applied as required by the Financial Regulation.

Co-funding and financial participation

No co-funding by the contractor is required beyond delivering the supplies at the contracted price. The contract payments are made by the contracting authority according to the milestone payment schedule in the contract. No matching or co-financing obligations are specified in the tender documents.

Application tips and practical requirements

Application stages count and success rate information

Co-funding requirement

Important procurement / legal notes

Tenderers must ensure they are not subject to EU restrictive measures (sanctions) and must comply with exclusion criteria in Article 138 of the Financial Regulation. If the tenderer intends to rely on third parties for selection/technical criteria, they must provide commitment letters (Annex 5.1/5.2) and identify subcontractors whose share is above 20% or who are used to meet selection criteria. The contracting authority may offset debts owed to the EU against payments under the contract. Confidential information and trade secrets should be clearly marked and justified. Personal data processing follows Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Mentioned countries and location

Templates and structure to help applicants

Applicants must submit a Financial and Technical tender (uploaded to the Tender Data/Financial tender field in eSubmission) and a set of administrative documents described in Annex 1. Key templated documents include: Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), Agreement/Power of Attorney for joint tenders (Annex 3), List of identified subcontractors and share percentages (Annex 4), Commitment letters from identified subcontractors (Annex 5.1) and from any entity on whose capacity the tenderer relies (Annex 5.2). The Admin Annex contains the required evidence and which involved entities must supply each document or provide it upon request.

Where to apply and support

All submissions must be made electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system. EU Login and Participant Register (PIC) are required. The ITT and Admin Annex point to the eSubmission Quick Guide and system requirements; there is an eSubmission Helpdesk for technical problems. Contracting authority contact emails are provided in the Invitation Letter and Admin Annex for administrative and technical questions.

Additional information and official procurement documents are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The portal subscription will notify tenderers of any published Q&A or corrigenda. See the official opportunity page on the Portal for downloads and updates F&T Portal opportunity page. 1

Concluding summary

This tender is a specialised procurement by the JRC Karlsruhe for a custom dry beta/gamma shielding window to replace an aged oil-filled window in a hot cell. It requires a supplier with proven expertise in lead/high-density shielding glass windows for radioactive hot-cell environments, manufacturing and QA capabilities (including lifetime quality records), and ability to perform factory acceptance tests, DDP delivery, installation and on-site testing at JRC Karlsruhe. Submission is electronic only via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by 09/11/2026 12:00 Europe/Berlin. Award will be by lowest price among compliant tenders. Tenderers must follow all administrative templates (Declaration on Honour, subcontractor listing, commitment letters), meet selection criteria (economic/financial thresholds and technical experience), and prepare for security and radiation clearance procedures for installation staff. Carefully follow the technical specifications (ASTM C1572 or equivalent, AESS guidance) and the administrative Annex 1 checklist to ensure tender admissibility. Contact details and full documents are on the Portal F&T Portal opportunity page.

Footnotes

1. 1Access the full procurement file, templates and upload points on the Funding & Tenders Portal opportunity page: ec.europa.eu

Executive summary

This is a European Commission procurement for the design, manufacture and delivery of a custom beta and gamma radiation shielding window for the Joint Research Centre in Karlsruhe, Germany. The component will allow visual monitoring of hot cell operations while maintaining the radiation shielding and containment performance of the installation. The procurement is for a supply contract rather than a grant, so applicants will submit commercial tenders and the successful tenderer will be paid under the resulting contract.

The opportunity is particularly relevant to manufacturers and specialist engineering companies with demonstrated experience in nuclear radiation shielding, hot cell equipment, post irradiation examination environments, nuclear safety systems and installation of bespoke shielding components. The tender is open, but the technical and experience thresholds are substantial. The contract will be awarded solely on price among tenders that pass all eligibility, exclusion, selection and technical compliance checks.

The official Funding and Tenders Portal notice and procurement documents are the controlling sources for the opportunity Official tender notice. The opportunity has also been identified in external procurement reporting as a JRC Karlsruhe supply procurement with procedure reference EC-JRC/KRU/2026/OP/3973.1

Opportunity profile

What the procurement is about

The contracting authority seeks a specially engineered beta and gamma shielding window for a high radiation hot cell at the JRC Karlsruhe. The window must provide safe visual observation of activities inside the cell without compromising the shielding integrity of the facility. The requirement is expressly described as a nuclear application and not as an off the shelf purchase.

The successful contractor is expected to undertake the full supply chain scope required by the technical specifications, including design development, production, delivery and any associated installation or support obligations specified in the technical documents. The precise dimensions, materials, shielding performance, interfaces, tolerances, testing, installation conditions and acceptance requirements must be taken from the technical specifications and the accompanying drawing, not inferred from the short notice.

The procurement is not divided into lots and variants are not permitted. A tender offering an alternative model or solution to the model described in the procurement documents may be disregarded. Tenderers should therefore base their technical and financial offer on the exact configuration and mandatory requirements in the technical specifications.

Contract and commercial structure

The procedure is intended to result in a direct contract. The contract will contain the complete terms governing delivery, performance, payment, confidentiality, audits, security and warranty, without a later framework call-off procedure.

The maximum contract period is 60 months. The administrative specifications identify 36 months for delivery and 24 months for warranty. Tenderers should price and plan for the complete contractual lifecycle, including engineering coordination, manufacturing, logistics, installation if required, testing, remedial work and warranty support where applicable.

The tender notice does not publish an estimated total contract value. No grant amount, co-financing rate, reimbursement percentage or maximum subsidy is available because this is a procurement competition rather than a funding call. The successful supplier will receive the contract price offered in its tender, subject to the contract terms and any applicable acceptance and payment conditions.

The financial offer must be expressed in euros and submitted free of duties, taxes and other charges, including VAT, in accordance with the tender specifications. Non euro area tenderers bear the risk associated with exchange rate movements because prices cannot be revised for currency fluctuations.

Who can apply

Any natural or legal person with the legal, regulatory, economic, financial, technical and professional capacity to perform the contract may submit a tender. Tenderers may participate individually or as a joint tender submitted by a group of economic operators.

Participation is open on equal terms to persons established within the scope of the EU Treaties, international organisations and eligible third country operators where the relevant EU procurement agreement, World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement, Euratom programme access arrangement or other applicable agreement provides access.

Each tenderer must state its country of establishment and provide evidence supporting that status when requested. All involved entities, including joint tender members, subcontractors and entities whose capacities are used, must be screened against applicable EU restrictive measures.

A tenderer may not participate simultaneously as a sole tenderer and as a member of another group, or as a member of more than one group, in the same procedure. Cross subcontracting arrangements between competing tenderers are also restricted and may result in rejection.

Joint tenders

A group may submit a joint tender without creating a separate legal entity. All group members will assume joint and several liability for performance of the contract. The group must appoint a group leader and submit the required agreement or power of attorney using the model in the tender specifications.

The group leader will act as the single administrative and operational contact and will have authority to bind the group in the tendering process and, if successful, for contract signature and execution. The roles and tasks of each group member must be clearly identified.

Subcontracting and reliance on third party capacity

Subcontracting is permitted, but the contractor remains fully responsible to the Commission for the complete performance of the contract. Identified subcontractors must be disclosed where the tenderer relies on their capacity or where their intended individual share exceeds 20 percent of the contract value.

Identified subcontractors must provide the required commitment letter. A tenderer may also rely on entities that are not subcontractors to satisfy selection criteria, but it must demonstrate that the necessary resources will be available and provide the relevant commitment documentation.

For technical and professional capacity, reliance on another entity is permitted only where that entity performs the works or services for which the relevant capacity is required. Abstract or unsupported commitments to make resources available will not be accepted.

Mandatory capacity requirements

The selection criteria are initially addressed through the required declarations on honour. The contracting authority may request supporting evidence at any time and is expected to request evidence from the presumed successful tenderer before award. Tenderers should prepare the evidence in advance because the response period may be short.

Exclusion and integrity requirements

Tenderers and relevant involved entities must not be in an exclusion situation under the EU Financial Regulation. The declaration covers, among other matters, insolvency, unpaid taxes or social security contributions, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, criminal organisation, money laundering, terrorism related offences, trafficking, irregularities, serious contractual deficiencies and obstruction of audits or investigations.

The declaration also covers persons with powers of representation, decision making or control, beneficial owners and, where applicable, persons assuming unlimited liability for the tenderer. Tenderers must declare the absence of conflicts of interest and confirm that the tender has been prepared independently from other tenders.

Tenderers, group members, subcontractors and entities relied upon must not be subject to applicable EU restrictive measures. They must also declare that they do not have an established debt to the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community or an executive agency implementing the EU budget.

The contracting authority may consult the Early Detection and Exclusion System and other available sources. The successful tenderer may be required to provide recent judicial records, tax and social security certificates, evidence of remedial measures and information concerning management, ownership and beneficial ownership structures.

Documents required with the tender

The following submission package should be prepared in accordance with the document list in the administrative specifications:

The declaration on honour may be omitted in limited circumstances where the same declaration was previously submitted for another European Commission award procedure, the situation has not changed and the declaration is not more than one year old. The tenderer remains responsible for ensuring that the earlier declaration is still valid and appropriate.

Technical and financial offer requirements

The technical and financial tender must demonstrate full and unconditional compliance with the procurement documents. Mandatory requirements cannot be qualified by assumptions, reservations, conditions or limitations. Non compliant tenders may be rejected before price ranking.

The financial tender must include a complete price breakdown. The amount entered in the eSubmission system must correspond to the amount in the uploaded financial tender. Where the two amounts differ, the amount in the financial tender will be taken into account.

The technical offer should clearly map the proposed design and manufacturing approach to every applicable requirement in the technical specifications. Given the nuclear application, applicants should be prepared to provide controlled engineering documentation, design verification, quality records, material certificates, manufacturing traceability, inspection and testing evidence, delivery planning and installation or commissioning arrangements where requested.

The technical specifications and drawing are published as separate procurement documents. They should be reviewed in full before deciding whether to bid Technical specifications Technical drawing.

Evaluation and award

Evaluation follows a compliance based sequence. The Commission may first assess access to procurement, administrative compliance, exclusion, selection capacity and compliance with the technical requirements. Only tenders that pass these checks will be ranked by price.

Price is the sole award criterion and represents 100 percent of the evaluation. The lowest priced compliant tender will be ranked first. A low price does not compensate for failure to meet a mandatory technical, administrative, eligibility or capacity requirement.

The contracting authority may investigate abnormally low tenders. Tenderers should ensure that prices are realistic and supported by a credible cost structure covering engineering, materials, specialist manufacturing, quality assurance, transport, installation, security, warranty and contractual overheads.

Tender validity, communications and clarification

The tender must remain valid for six months. Submission creates a binding tender obligation for the tenderer during the validity period and, for the successful tenderer, during the contract period.

Questions must be submitted through the Questions and Answers function of the Funding and Tenders Portal. The contracting authority is not required to answer requests received less than six working days before the tender deadline. Interested operators should submit technical clarification questions well before 30 October 2026 and monitor the portal for published answers, corrections and document changes.

The invitation letter states that an on site visit is planned for 23 October 2026 at 10:00 at the JRC Karlsruhe site. Attendance is not mandatory. Representatives wishing to attend must provide the requested identity and nationality information to the contracting authority at least two working days in advance.

A virtual public opening is scheduled for 9 November 2026 at 15:00 Europe/Berlin. Up to two representatives per tender may attend if they request access in advance and provide the required submission and contact information.

Submission mechanics and compliance risks

Tenders must be submitted exclusively through the electronic submission system. Email, post, courier delivery or any other submission route will be disregarded. Each participating organisation must be registered in the Commission Participant Register and must have a valid Participant Identification Code.

An EU Login account is required to use the portal and electronic submission system. Tenderers should register or verify their organisation, PIC, authorised representatives and contact details early. The portal submission receipt with its official timestamp is the evidence of timely submission.

The tender deadline is 9 November 2026 at 12:00 Europe/Berlin. Late submissions cannot be accepted. Tenderers should allow sufficient time for file preparation, upload, system checks and resolution of technical problems. Documents should be submitted in the formats and within the file size limits specified by the eSubmission system.

Before the deadline, a tender may be withdrawn or replaced through the portal. If more than one tender is submitted and earlier tenders are not withdrawn, only the latest tender will be considered. The latest tender must contain all required documents and cannot rely on documents submitted only in an earlier version.

Security, site access and contract obligations

The contractor and its personnel must comply with the JRC security requirements during performance. Any costs associated with security measures, background checks, access requirements or security clearances are borne by the contractor unless the final contract provides otherwise.

The contractor must support the Commission's fraud prevention and detection activities and must pass relevant obligations to subcontractors and personnel. Environmental considerations, equal opportunities, diversity and applicable data protection, social, labour and environmental obligations must be respected throughout performance.

The Commission may use electronic exchange systems during contract implementation and future related procedures. Overdue debts owed to the European Union or Euratom may be offset against payments due under the contract.

Applicant suitability assessment

Recommended bid preparation plan

Overall assessment

This is a specialised, technically demanding procurement with a strong qualification barrier and a comparatively simple award formula. The opportunity is commercially attractive for an established nuclear equipment supplier because the buyer requires a bespoke component and a long contractual period that includes warranty, but the absence of published price information means bidders must build their own detailed cost and risk model.

The most material bid risks are failure to demonstrate the required hot cell references, incomplete technical conformity, inability to evidence financial capacity or insurance, missing declarations or authority documents, incorrect treatment of subcontractors, and late or technically invalid electronic submission. The lowest price will succeed only if the tender is fully compliant and the tenderer passes all eligibility, exclusion and selection checks.

The January 2026 date appearing in some aggregated metadata should not be treated as the operative deadline for the published call. The current procurement documents identify 9 November 2026 at 12:00 Europe/Berlin as the deadline for receipt of tenders. Applicants should rely on the live Funding and Tenders Portal record and any subsequent published corrigenda for final status and timing.

Sources and document set

The primary source is the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal record for procedure EC-JRC/KRU/2026/OP/3973. The portal record contains the invitation letter, administrative specifications, declaration on honour, technical specifications, technical drawing and draft contract. The external search result corroborates the procedure title, JRC Karlsruhe contracting authority and procedure reference.1

1 External procurement listing available at DevelopmentAid tender record.