Federal contract award
80NSSC18C0118
THIS PRODUCT INNOVATION IS DIRECTED TOWARD SEPARATING HYDROGEN FROM HELIUM GAS MIXTURES USING A MICRO-CHANNEL SEPARATION UNIT WITH THIN WALLS OF A PALLADIUM-SILVER ALLOY. THE MICROCHANNELS ARE PRODUCED IN A SIZE RANGE OF 100-200 MICRONS SUCH THAT THE BOUNDARY LAYER THICKNESS INSIDE IS DRASTICALLY REDUCED WHEN MIXTURES OF HELIUM AND HYDROGEN GAS FLOW THROUGH THE CHANNELS. THIS THIN BOUNDARY LAYER ENHANCES THE THERMAL AND MASS TRANSPORT FLUXES TO THE CHANNEL WALLS INCREASING THE SEPARATION RATE. WITH THIS MICRO-CHANNEL APPROACH, THE MEMBRANE SURFACE AREA TO VOLUME RATIO IS MAXIMIZED REDUCING THE OPERATING COSTS AND CAPITAL COSTS FOR THE UNIT. THE PRESENT CRYOGENIC SEPARATION PROCESS FOR THIS HELIUM-HYDROGEN GAS MIXTURE IS ENERGY INTENSIVE, AND NEWER DEMONSTRATIONS USING PROTON-EXCHANGE MEMBRANE BASED SEPARATION PROCESSES ARE DIFFICULT AND COSTLY TO SCALE TO THE SIZE NEEDED TO PROCESS THIS LARGE QUANTITY OF GAS. ACCORDINGLY, REACTIVE INNOVATIONS IS DEVELOPING A METAL MEMBRANE BASED MICROCHANNEL SEPARATION UNIT THAT IS READILY SCALABLE AND INEXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE AND OPERATE. THE MICRO-CHANNEL SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY MAXIMIZES THE SEPARATION AREA PER UNIT VOLUME GIVING ENHANCED THERMAL AND MASS FLUXES TO SEPARATE HYDROGEN FROM THE HELIUM MIXTURE.
Award details
Obligations, current value and potential value describe different measures; they are never added together.
| Field | Reported value |
|---|---|
| Agency | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| Office | NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER |
| NAICS | 541713 — Research and Development in Nanotechnology |
| PSC | AR11 — SPACE R&D SERVICES; SPACE FLIGHT, RESEARCH AND SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES; BASIC RESEARCH |
| Parent award / vehicle | Not reported |
| Set-aside | SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE - TOTAL |
| Pricing type | FIRM FIXED PRICE |
| Obligations | $750.0K |
| Current contract value | $750.0K |
| Potential contract value / ceiling | $750.0K |
| Start date | Aug 7, 2018 |
| Current end date | Feb 6, 2021 |
| Potential end date | Feb 6, 2021 |
| Latest award activity | Jun 23, 2020 |
| Source loaded | Sep 26, 2026 |
Funding and modification history
Showing the latest 2 of 2 loaded transactions. Negative values are deobligations.
| Date | Modification | Obligation change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2020 | P00001 | $0 | THIS PRODUCT INNOVATION IS DIRECTED TOWARD SEPARATING HYDROGEN FROM HELIUM GAS MIXTURES USING A MICRO-CHANNEL SEPARATION UNIT WITH THIN WALLS OF A PALLADIUM-SILVER ALLOY. THE MICROCHANNELS ARE PRODUCED IN A SIZE RANGE OF 100-200 MICRONS SUCH THAT THE BOUNDARY LAYER THICKNESS INSIDE IS DRASTICALLY REDUCED WHEN MIXTURES OF HELIUM AND HYDROGEN GAS FLOW THROUGH THE CHANNELS. THIS THIN BOUNDARY LAYER ENHANCES THE THERMAL AND MASS TRANSPORT FLUXES TO THE CHANNEL WALLS INCREASING THE SEPARATION RATE. WITH THIS MICRO-CHANNEL APPROACH, THE MEMBRANE SURFACE AREA TO VOLUME RATIO IS MAXIMIZED REDUCING THE OPERATING COSTS AND CAPITAL COSTS FOR THE UNIT. THE PRESENT CRYOGENIC SEPARATION PROCESS FOR THIS HELIUM-HYDROGEN GAS MIXTURE IS ENERGY INTENSIVE, AND NEWER DEMONSTRATIONS USING PROTON-EXCHANGE MEMBRANE BASED SEPARATION PROCESSES ARE DIFFICULT AND COSTLY TO SCALE TO THE SIZE NEEDED TO PROCESS THIS LARGE QUANTITY OF GAS. ACCORDINGLY, REACTIVE INNOVATIONS IS DEVELOPING A METAL MEMBRANE BASED MICROCHANNEL SEPARATION UNIT THAT IS READILY SCALABLE AND INEXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE AND OPERATE. THE MICRO-CHANNEL SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY MAXIMIZES THE SEPARATION AREA PER UNIT VOLUME GIVING ENHANCED THERMAL AND MASS FLUXES TO SEPARATE HYDROGEN FROM THE HELIUM MIXTURE. |
| Aug 7, 2018 | 0 | $750.0K | THIS PRODUCT INNOVATION IS DIRECTED TOWARD SEPARATING HYDROGEN FROM HELIUM GAS MIXTURES USING A MICRO-CHANNEL SEPARATION UNIT WITH THIN WALLS OF A PALLADIUM-SILVER ALLOY. THE MICROCHANNELS ARE PRODUCED IN A SIZE RANGE OF 100-200 MICRONS SUCH THAT THE BOUNDARY LAYER THICKNESS INSIDE IS DRASTICALLY REDUCED WHEN MIXTURES OF HELIUM AND HYDROGEN GAS FLOW THROUGH THE CHANNELS. THIS THIN BOUNDARY LAYER ENHANCES THE THERMAL AND MASS TRANSPORT FLUXES TO THE CHANNEL WALLS INCREASING THE SEPARATION RATE. WITH THIS MICRO-CHANNEL APPROACH, THE MEMBRANE SURFACE AREA TO VOLUME RATIO IS MAXIMIZED REDUCING THE OPERATING COSTS AND CAPITAL COSTS FOR THE UNIT. THE PRESENT CRYOGENIC SEPARATION PROCESS FOR THIS HELIUM-HYDROGEN GAS MIXTURE IS ENERGY INTENSIVE, AND NEWER DEMONSTRATIONS USING PROTON-EXCHANGE MEMBRANE BASED SEPARATION PROCESSES ARE DIFFICULT AND COSTLY TO SCALE TO THE SIZE NEEDED TO PROCESS THIS LARGE QUANTITY OF GAS. ACCORDINGLY, REACTIVE INNOVATIONS IS DEVELOPING A METAL MEMBRANE BASED MICROCHANNEL SEPARATION UNIT THAT IS READILY SCALABLE AND INEXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE AND OPERATE. THE MICRO-CHANNEL SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY MAXIMIZES THE SEPARATION AREA PER UNIT VOLUME GIVING ENHANCED THERMAL AND MASS FLUXES TO SEPARATE HYDROGEN FROM THE HELIUM MIXTURE. |
Research next steps
- Check the stated set-aside against the solicitation and current certifications.
- Review the award scope and buyer evidence before making a bid/no-bid decision.