Procurement at UKAEA
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-30)

Information for those looking to become a supplier or contractor for the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

Social value

We follow procurement best practice by working to achieve value for money and transparency, while ensuring that all contractors (including SMEs) are treated fairly and equitably. We recognise the important contribution that small businesses make to the delivery of our organisational objectives and strategies. See UKAEA’s Supply Chain Charter (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-supply-chain-charter) for more information about our approach to procurement, and our Social Value Charter (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-social-value-charter) for how we aim to generate additional benefits from our procurements.

Social value is of great importance to UKAEA, and we have been developing processes to ensure this is represented throughout UKAEA’s staff and culture. UKAEA has regularly engaged with the supply chain on how we can successfully employ social value in a way that the wider supply chain can meet. We monitor and report social value delivery in UKAEA contracts using an online software called Thrive.

The goal of fusion research is to provide a low carbon energy source for the second half of this century. Whilst on the path to sustainable fusion energy, we aim to make our progress as environmentally friendly as possible. UKAEA takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and ensures all statutory obligations relating to waste management and discharges to the environment are strictly complied with.

UKAEA aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This goal forms the basis of our Sustainability Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-sustainability-strategy), which outlines the main sustainability aspects of UKAEA’s operations and our plans for addressing them. More information on our sustainability goals and performance can be found in our Annual Report and Accounts for 2024/25 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025-hc-1006).

Our Modern Slavery Statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-modern-slavery-statement-20232024) for the financial year 23/24 outlines our due diligence and how we are mitigating the risk of modern slavery. We encourage our suppliers to read our statement to understand UKAEA’s policies in relation to modern slavery and human trafficking.

UKAEA opportunities

UKAEA is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body and operates in accordance with UK Government Policy, and Public Procurement Legislation. Our external spend is in excess of £200 million per year and covers a wide range of opportunities for suppliers.

UKAEA publishes all opportunities above £25,000 (excluding VAT) and notices on the Central Digital Platform (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search) (CDP) also known as Find a Tender Service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search). Suppliers can find and bid for all Public Sector opportunities via the CDP. This platform has been implemented to provide additional information relating to contracts awarded over £5 million under the new Procurement Act.

The new Procurement Act went live on 24 February 2025. The Act has created a range of benefits for suppliers including:

Increased transparency of public procurement activities

Increased opportunities for SMEs and VCSEs

Streamlining tender procedures

Standardisation of processes

Less repetition of information needed from bidders

Now available via the CDP:

Information about supplier performance

Details of all new contracts over £5 million

A supplier must be registered on the CDP to bid for any new tender opportunity we advertise. The platform records a suppliers’ core business information. The supplier is then able to share this with a Public Sector organisation when applying for an opportunity. Suppliers must make sure their information is correct and up to date.

UKAEA also uses EU Supply (https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=UKAEA&target=/ctm/Supplier/PublicPurchase/83020) as a centralised platform where bidders can access all our tender documents and learn how to apply for new opportunities. EU Supply is a tender and contract management portal that enables our procurement professionals and suppliers to conduct the strategic activities of the procurement lifecycle in one place.

EU Supply publishes all our relevant tender information onto the CDP with instructions on how to work with us.

For more information on how to register on the new Central Digital Platform or the Procurement Act changes, see The Procurement Act 2023 - guidance for suppliers and contractors - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rfca-supplier-guide/the-procurement-act-2023-guidance-for-suppliers-and-contractors).

No purchase order, no payment

UKAEA works strictly on a no purchase order, no pay policy. Purchase orders must be in place before any works, supplies or services begin. Failure to operate in accordance with this requirement will restrict the enablement of payment. More information can be found on the managing public money (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money) page.

Invoices quoting the relevant purchase order number should be issued as soon as possible after the goods have been dispatched or the services provided, unless stated otherwise in contract.

UKAEA position on working with Russia and Belarus

Due to the actions of the Russian government, UKAEA will not be conducting any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any Russian or Belarusian entity. This includes any goods or services originating from a Russian or Belarusian source, even if not the Main Contractor. When conducting business with UKAEA, the suppliers are required to confirm they are wholly aligned with this policy.

The UK stands with Ukraine. Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state. The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s reprehensible actions, which are an egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter.

Procurement pipeline

You can find UKAEA’s procurement pipeline opportunities here (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-procurement-pipeline). We review and publish this every quarter, sharing upcoming procurement opportunities with relevant details such as the responsible commercial lead who you can contact for more information. The pipeline is split into the following tabs:

Aspirational: A forward view of potential opportunities over the next 1 to 5 years, but not guaranteed. We share these for visibility and to give supply chain an opportunity to comment on capability, capacity and budget.

FIP and pre-commercial activities: Opportunities related to the Fusion Industry Programme.

Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PME), previously called a PIN: A list of preliminary market engagement notices used to get feedback from the market and gauge interest in future tenders.

Tenders: Opportunities that have been confirmed to go out to tender. These have a realistic budget and are genuine requirements.

The pipeline may be subject to change due to the nature of our work.

UKAEA will also publish a pipeline notice on the Central Digital Platform during April and May each year for all known tender opportunities valued over £2 million that are due to be released to the market during the next 12 months.

UKAEA routes to market

We use several methods to procure our requirements for UKAEA. The approach depends on the contract value, type of product or service, the complexity of the requirement and the duration of the agreement.

Government Frameworks: As a public sector organisation, we must consider government frameworks for our procurements, such as Crown Commercial Services (CCS).

Frameworks: UKAEA may procure for an open or closed framework with one or more suppliers. This allows UKAEA to place orders or tasks under the framework to participating, pre-assessed suppliers without needing a full procurement exercise each time. For more information, see the Cabinet Office guidance website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents-define-phase/guidance-frameworks-html).

Direct orders: Low value, off-the-shelf-purchases (currently less than £25,000 excluding VAT). Value for money must be demonstrated and 3 quotations provided. We issue a simple purchase order with terms and conditions for low value purchases. See UKAEA standard purchase order conditions (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5cb42ff3e5274a76c8c29fd6/SC_as_Purchase_Order_NEC4.pdf) (PDF, 319 KB, 8 pages) for more information.

Tenders: Procurements above £25,000 (excluding VAT) are tendered where possible and all appropriate notices are published via the Central Digital Platform, with instructions on how to access documents and submit a tender response through our eSender, EU Supply.

Pre-commercial procurements: Procurement of research and development to support the creation of new products and solutions for unmet needs. These competitions generate new business opportunities for companies, provides SMEs a route to market for their ideas and bridges the funding gap experienced by many early-stage companies. We provide funding through contracts rather than grants which can therefore be up to 100% of project costs. The authority and supplier share the risk.

Market engagement

UKAEA recognises the pivotal role that market engagement plays in delivering sustainable fusion energy and maximising its economic benefit. We have adopted a continuous and consistent market engagement strategy from the earliest stages to strengthen relationships, encourage collaboration and grow the fusion industry.

As part of this approach, we host a series of scheduled events throughout the year to keep engaging with the supply chain and provide regular updates.

For general UKAEA updates, we have developed an annual schedule of suppliers’ events that we host focusing on various aspects of UKAEA activities. These include an executive overview, a commercial overview, and an industry-focused event each year.

We schedule programme-specific events when necessary to share updates or notify of increased activity in a specific area of UKAEA. These could be linked to sharing information on large packages of upcoming work or sharing changes and announcements as our programmes continue to evolve.

To make sure the supply chain stays up to date with our supplier events and industry days, there is an option to join UKAEA’s supplier mailing list (https://ukaeaevents.com/uk-fusion-suppliers-events/). To find potential collaborators, consider registering to our Fusion Energy Industry Directory (https://ukaeaevents.com/industry-directory/), and LinkedIn Supplier’s Network Group (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9121247/). Suppliers can also check our procurement portals for information on market engagement activities.

UKAEA also host regular preliminary market engagement activities and industry days linked with specific Invitations to Tender and projects. This activity will always be advertised through Preliminary Market Engagement Notices on Central Digital Platform via EU Supply.

Supply chain newsletter

UKAEA’s supply chain newsletter is published quarterly to provide updates on the organisation and its supply chain activities.

See our most recent publishing here: Supply chain newsletter, May 2025 (https://ukaea.maglr.com/supply-chain-may-2025/supply-chain-may-2025).

Information and links for all previous editions can all be found in our Supply chain newsletter archive (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukaea-supply-chain-newsletter-archive).

The Fusion Cluster

Fusion energy is too complex for any one organisation or even sector to achieve alone – which is why The Fusion Cluster was established in October 2021. It brings together private fusion companies, the supply chain, investors, government and academia to get to fusion faster.

The cluster is open to anyone in the UK working to realise the potential of fusion energy, plus overseas fusion energy providers with ambitions to operate here. The Fusion Cluster creates connections, facilitates knowledge sharing and helps organisations find the partners they need to advance their work on fusion.

For more information, including how to join, please see The Fusion Cluster website (https://thefusioncluster.com/).

Contact the procurement team

Information and contacts for a procurement during an active tender can be found on Find a Tender (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search).

For procurement pipeline queries, please contact the relevant commercial lead outlined in the document.

For general queries, please contact: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

For supplier enquiries, contact us at: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Other useful links:

Information and guidance for suppliers - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/information-and-guidance-for-suppliers)

The Procurement Act 2023: A short guide for suppliers (HTML) - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/the-procurement-act-2023-a-short-guide-for-suppliers-html)

The Official Transforming Public Procurement Knowledge Drops - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-official-transforming-public-procurement-knowledge-drops#kd3knowledge-drop-forsuppliers-part-1)

Procurement Act 2023 - Guidance documents - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/procurement-act-2023-guidance-documents)