National Nuclear Security Administration

The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration, a civilian sub-agency of the Department of Energy that administers nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship, nuclear nonproliferation, and nuclear security missions, has awarded 5,200 federal contracts totaling $579.64 billion in combined potential value since 1973. The agency obligated $422.54 billion (73% of potential value) across those awards. Contract award cadence over the last five years has been stable: 131 awards in 2022, 97 in 2023, 153 in 2024, 117 in 2025, and 125 so far in 2026. The most recently recorded award date is 2026-11-15.

The contract competitive landscape is highly fragmented. Over the last five years, the top five primes by award count—Bgrs Relocation Inc., Parsons Government Services Inc., Gartner Inc., Vector Resource Inc., and Mele Associates Inc.—account for 17 percent of recent awards. By combined potential value, the top five are Mele Associates Inc., Vector Resource Inc., Techsource LLC, Thundercat Technology LLC, and Parsons Government Services Inc., but they represent less than 1 percent of combined potential value over the five-year window, indicating that reported values are heavily concentrated in smaller task orders, schedule calls, or below-threshold actions. The portfolio spans 1,705 distinct prime contractors.

Set-aside activity is heavily weighted toward open competition: 70 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation. Small business awards account for 19 percent of the portfolio, with 8(a) sole source (8%) and competitive 8(a) (1%) as the primary small-business vehicles. Service-disabled veteran-owned, women-owned, HUBZone, and emerging small-business set-asides together represent less than 1 percent of awards.

The National Nuclear Security Administration also administers 470 federal grants totaling $2.83 billion in federal dollars obligated (total federal and non-federal share: $3.21 billion) since 2010. Grant award cadence has fluctuated: 61 awards in 2022, 28 in 2023, 36 in 2024, 49 in 2025, and 11 so far in 2026. The most recent grant award closed on 2026-09-01. Grant recipients are fragmented: the top five by award count—Michigan State University, Georgia Tech Research Corp, Duke University, University of California San Diego, and University of Florida—hold 18 percent of recent awards. By federal dollars obligated, University of Rochester, University of Florida, Georgia Tech Research Corp, Regents of the University of Michigan, and University of California San Diego account for 14 percent of federal dollars, with 156 distinct recipients across the portfolio. Grants are predominantly Project Grants (74%) with a substantial Cooperative Agreement component (24%).

Recent contract solicitations include pre-solicitations for sole-source technical equipment acquisitions (Isotopx DG60 Filament Degasser and Hopewell Designs neutron irradiator for the Radiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory), a sources-sought notice for industrial construction (NAICS 236210, due Oct 29, 2026), small-business task orders under the NNSA Enterprise-Wide Technical and Engineering Programmatic Services III BPA (due Oct 19, 2026), and an RFI for Next Generation Transporter capabilities (due Sep 30, 2026).

Representative grant opportunities include Silicon Carbide Cladding Lead Test Rod Development—Phase 1 (Cooperative Agreement, due Dec 7, 2026) for advanced nuclear fuel research, Staff Support for Regional Engagement on Radioactive Materials Transportation Planning (Cooperative Agreement restricted to for-profit organizations, due Sep 30, 2026), and Staff Support to the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (Cooperative Agreement open to federally recognized tribes and other entities, due Oct 9, 2026).

The National Nuclear Security Administration works to ensure that the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons is safe and secure. It also works to ensure the safety of naval nuclear reactors, is the first responder in case of nuclear emergency, and works on worldwide nuclear nonproliferation issues.