Spain – Heat-exchange units and machinery for liquefying air or other gases – Suministro de un sistema modular de licuefaccion y purificacion de helio liquido y un sistema de deteccion de fugas, desglosado en 2 lotes: L1: Sistema modular de licuefaccion y purificacion de helio y L2: Sistema de deteccion de fugas de helio (proyecto EQC2025-009248-P). Cofinanciado 60% por el Gobierno de Aragon y 40% por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER).

The Cryogenic Liquids Service (SLC) of the Scientific and Technological Support Service (SAI) of the University of Zaragoza has the essential function of producing and supplying ultrapure liquid helium to the research community of the institution and to external public research bodies. This service is transversal and critical for the scientific activity of the University, as it supports more than 130 annual research projects in strategic areas such as quantum technologies, nanotechnology, nuclear magnetic resonance and the characterization of advanced materials. The current liquefaction and purification infrastructure of the SLC consists of pre-commercial prototypes developed within the service between 2006 and 2015, which have exceeded their expected useful life. Of the five liquefiers, only two remain operational, and of the three purifiers, only one. The equipment does not have external technical support and their compressors accumulate more than 70,000 hours of use, exceeding the 60,000 hours recommended by the manufacturers for replacement. Under these conditions, the continuity of the supply of liquid helium cannot be guaranteed in the medium term, which would affect both the user research groups and other services that depend on it, such as the Physical Measurements Service of the SAI, the NMR Service of the CEQMA or the Advanced Microscopies Laboratory (LMA-ICTS). The acquisition of the equipment subject to the present contract therefore responds to an accredited, urgent and irreplaceable institutional need: to guarantee the operational continuity of the SLC by renewing its production core with commercial state-of-the-art equipment that has technical support, available spare parts and manufacturer's warranty. The supply contract formula is the most suitable to meet this need, since the required equipment are manufactured goods available on the market, whose acquisition, installation and commissioning can be the subject of public tendering under conditions of competition. There are no circumstances that justify alternative contractual formulas.