Other justification
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Justification for direct award: There is lack of competition due to technical reasons, cf. § 80, subsection 3, no. 2 in the Danish Public Procurement Law. DTU has investigated the market for alternative providers for nano printers, e.g., at web-based searches, conferences, etc., without finding comparable alternatives to the VSP-P1 NanoPrinter, which can only be delivered by the supplier VSPARTICLE B.V. Based on this, DTU can conclude that DTU can only purchase the nano printer from the supplier VSPARTICLE B.V., because the VSP-P1 NanoPrinter is the only nano printer that incorporates all these elements/conditions in combination, which no other nano printers from other suppliers can provide/include as a whole: - No surfactants or other organic impurities are introduced to the product, ensuring the highest level of nanoparticle purity; thus, only the purity of the electrode material and carrier gas purity affects the nanoparticles' purity - The nanoparticles are produced via a spark ablation process, where atom clusters are created by introducing high voltage between two electrodes of the desired materials. - The VSP-P1 NanoPrinter utilizes gas-phase production and low-energy impact deposition, operating at near atmospheric pressure to ensure optimal conditions for nanoparticle synthesis. - The direct deposition of nanoparticles on the substrate eliminates the powdery nanoparticle residues, enhancing the safety of use. - The system produces nanoparticles with a consistent size below 10 nm, which is a critical requirement for catalysis, where the typical particle size is approximately 5 nm. - High-resolution particle printing is compatible with a variety of substrate geometries, including RDE tips, Nafion membranes, metal plates, etc. - The fast synthesis process supports high throughput: o The machine operates similarly to a 3D printer: substrates are transferred into a chamber, the door is closed, particles are deposited, the door is opened, and the substrate is taken out, making it easy to automate o Multiple substrates (up to hundreds) can be processed simultaneously, accelerating the synthesis. - The enclosed, modular, and detachable nanoparticle reactor can be easily transferred to a fume hood for safe manipulation of materials. - The modular design and simple operation of the NanoPrinter integrates seamlessly into an autonomous workflow. - The modular design allows multiple nanoparticle generators (VSP-G1) to be combined in a single NanoPrinter, enabling the generation of alloy nanoparticles and further enhancing scalability. - Furthermore, the NanoPrinter offers versatile application capabilities: o It simultaneously enables deposition on various supports, including small samples and large membranes. o The system is scalable to multi-target setups and is suitable for high-entropy alloys and oxides. o The system ensures critical consistency between material properties and device-level performance. o It can be scaled up to industrial production levels (up to 10,000 times), which is crucial for capital expenditure (CAPeX). o The NanoPrinter may be part of a larger consortium of groups utilizing shared equipment, enhancing collaborative research and development. o The NanoPrinter can produce high-purity, pure element, and multi-alloy nanoparticles (i.e., alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, post-transition metals, metal-loids, elements from the carbon group, nitrogen group, oxygen group and rare earth elements from the lanthanide series). These elements in the VSP-P1 NanoPrinter are necessary for DTU, as they directly support CAPeX's goal of accelerating material discovery and developing scalable, sustainable solutions for the P2X ecosystem. The VSP-P1 NanoPrinter's ability to deposit nanoparticles without introducing impurities and its high-resolution printing across a variety of substrates enable precise and pure material design. This is crucial for developing novel materials and interfaces under realistic operating conditions, a core aim of CAPeX. Its high-resolution printing and compatibility with diverse substrates enable targeted material development. At the same time, its scalability and seamless integration into autonomous workflows support the high-throughput production necessary to reduce the time from discovery to commercially viable solutions. This makes the printer a vital asset in achieving CAPeX's research objectives.