LBNF/DUNE-US Far Detectors and Cryogenics Infrastructure Bull Gang Services

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) was borne out of the 2014 U.S. Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) recommendations.

The recommendations called for formation of a truly international collaboration for constructing a United States (US) based long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment with a powerful neutrino beam (MW scale), a massive liquid argon TPC (40kt) sited several hundred kilometers downstream of the neutrino source and deep underground, and a smaller detector just downstream of the beamline.

Together, these elements will have the capability to unambiguously determine the neutrino mass ordering, search for CP violation in the lepton sector, search for proton decay, and observe neutrinos from core collapse supernovae. The LBNF/DUNE-US project is a US Department of Energy (DOE)-funded construction project to create the facility and contribute US scope to the international DUNE collaboration.

The major participants in the overall LBNF/DUNE enterprise are the international DUNE collaboration, the LBNF/DUNE-US construction project, the DOE, international funding agencies, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois as the host laboratory, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead South Dakota, where the far detector will be located.

Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG), which manages and operates Fermilab, is seeking firms to perform the required work at SURF, in Lead, South Dakota including the performance of logistical and material transport services for managing the flow of materials in support of the LBNF/DUNE-US Far Detectors and Cryogenic Infrastructure (FDC) subproject. These requirements are referred to as the “FDC Bull Gang” requirements.

The primary responsibility of FFDG’s FDC Bull Gang subcontractor will be to manage the flow of the FDC materials at the surface and the 4850L in support of the LBNF/DUNE-US FDC subproject. An overview of the scope of the planned subcontract and the requirements are provided in the attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW) dated May 15, 2025. FFDG is seeking interested sources to perform the FDC Bull Gang subcontract.

Prospective Offerors may indicate interest in pursuing the subcontract by completing the attached questionnaire. This Sources Sought notice is a tool for FFDG to gauge the number and availability of firms in the marketplace that may be capable of successfully performing the FDC Bull Gang requirements within a timeframe that ensures uninterrupted progress of the LBNF/DUNE-US project.

FFDG will utilize information received in response to this Sources Sought notice to structure FFDG’s acquisition strategy for the formation of the FDC Bull Gang subcontract. All expressions of interest must be accompanied by a completed Market Research Questionnaire, which is attached to this Sources Sought notice. The completed questionnaires will be used by FFDG to understand the capabilities that exist in the marketplace.