Management and Operating Contractor for the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF)

THIS IS AN EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI) ONLY. No solicitation is available at this time.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently in the acquisition planning phase for a contractor to manage and operate the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) located in Newport News, Virginia. TJNAF, also known colloquially as Jefferson Laboratory, is one of the nation’s crown jewel DOE national laboratories and has a legacy as one of the world’s leading nuclear physics research institutions. TJNAF’s primary mission is to deliver breakthrough science and technology in nuclear physics; accelerator science and technology; and large-scale user facilities/advanced instrumentation. Today the laboratory’s mission is expanding to include high performance computing, data science, and AI, forging unique synergies with nuclear science to benefit American competitiveness and innovation. TJNAF has approximately 850 employees and an annual budget of approximately $238M. TJNAF is located on a federally owned 169-acre site. The Laboratory attracts an international user community of approximately 1,650 scientists, primarily from universities.

TJNAF is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) single-purpose laboratory, funded primarily by DOE’s Office of Science (SC) through the Nuclear Physics (NP) program. The Laboratory is built around the world’s first large-scale superconducting electron accelerator, the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), that has delivered discoveries unveiling the fundamental nature of nuclear matter. In 2023, TJNAF was named as the lead for SC’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) High Performance Data Facility (HPDF) project. The Department expects the Laboratory to evolve from a single-purpose national laboratory into a multi-purpose national laboratory over the next few years.

TJNAF leads the nation in the construction and operation of world-leading accelerator and detector facilities and in developing the underlying technology for nuclear physics research. TJNAF is a leader in superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) technology and is a resource for researchers nationally and internationally. TJNAF performs leading-edge research in nuclear physics, superconductivity, cryogenics, computer process and control applications, and the physics of particle and light beams. TJNAF has a partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to design and implement the Electron-Ion Collider, which will likely be the only collider constructed world-wide in the next decade. 

DOE anticipates awarding a new contract during the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 which is expected to include a 60-day transition period. It is currently anticipated that the award will be a performance-based, cost reimbursement contract, that includes an annual performance fee and a five-year base period with the potential to earn up to an additional 15 years of performance through award term incentives. DOE anticipates issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 that will be consistent with Departmental and Federal competition policies and regulations. Approximately three weeks after issuance of the RFP, a pre-proposal conference will be held. 

The purpose of this notice is to request expressions of interest from interested parties. 

All interested parties are requested to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to TJNAFcompetition@science.doe.gov. The subject of the email should read “Expression of Interest”. Submission of an EOI does not commit an interested party to submit a proposal, nor does failure to submit a response preclude an interested party from submitting a proposal. EOI’s should be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 29, 2025. 

While there is no specific format required, EOI’s should include the following information and should be no more than five (5) pages with a font no smaller than size 12. 

1. Prospective offerors business name, including parent and member organizations
2. Point of contact, including a telephone number and an email address
3. Business size (e.g., large, small, 8a, etc.)
4. Nature of proposing entity (e.g., joint venture, limited liability corporation, etc.)
5. Interest as being either a prime or subcontractor
6. The Department may utilize the EOI’s received in response to this notice to publicize a list of parties interested in this acquisition. Indicate whether or not you would like to be included on a list of interested parties made available to the public. Your organization will not be listed unless you furnish your agreement. 
7. Brief description of your capabilities
8. Due to the preliminary stage of this acquisition, only a draft Statement of Work (SOW) is currently available, which is attached for information only. Please review and identify sections of the SOW that may give your business pause in responding to a subsequent RFP. Provide suggestions on how the assessment criteria for such sections could be structured to make your business more competitive.

DOE reserves the right to use any information submitted by, or obtained from, an interested party in any manner DOE determines appropriate, including, but not limited to, the creation of a competitive solicitation. Interested parties should not include any classified, business confidential, or proprietary information in their responses. DOE personnel may contact parties responding to this notification to clarify responses as part of this market research process.

It is the intent of DOE to ensure the solicitation process is transparent and current. Future information regarding the solicitation, including questions and answers, if appropriate, will be posted on the competition website at https://science.osti.gov/Acquisition-Management/M-and-O-Competitions/TJNAF25. This website will be the primary distribution medium used to disseminate information relating to this competition as it becomes available. Offerors are responsible for frequently monitoring the website for information, notices, and updates regarding the solicitation. 

DOE looks forward to engaging with the community, industry, academia, and other interested parties in a transparent and collaborative manner throughout the solicitation process for a contractor to manage and operate TJNAF. 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT AT THIS TIME.

Place of Performance:

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

12000 Jefferson Ave.

Newport News, VA 23606

United States