UT-Battelle LLC holds the management and operation (M&O) contract for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under a Department of Energy (DOE) award with total cumulative obligations of $41,833,771,853, according to USASpending.gov records. The contract, identified as award DEAC0500OR22725, has been in effect since October 15, 1999 and runs through March 31, 2030.

M&O contracts are among the most valuable in the federal contracting landscape. The DOE uses this contract vehicle to engage a private operator — in this case, a joint venture between the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute — to manage a federally owned research facility. Contractors operating under M&O agreements are responsible for scientific programs, workforce management, facility operations, and regulatory compliance, all under DOE oversight.

For GovCon practitioners, DOE M&O contracts represent a specialized and highly competitive tier of federal business. The recompete cycle for facilities like ORNL can reshape the contracting landscape across the research and engineering sectors. ORNL itself is the Department of Energy's largest science and energy laboratory by acreage and staff size, with a mission spanning neutron science, materials, computing, and nuclear security research.

The $41.8 billion figure represents cumulative obligations accrued over more than two decades of contract performance — not a single fiscal year award.

Source: USASpending.gov — DEAC0500OR22725