‘Huge impact’: Sandia releases FY24 economic report showing $5.2 billion in spending

Mike Lisk developed a technology to more efficiently distribute water to cattle across vast areas of ranch land, which caught the attention and help of New Mexico State University and Sandia National Laboratories.

The technology, operated by wind and solar energy and using a controller and a network of piping, is now being used on the Navajo Nation, making it easier for ranchers to sustain — and even expand — the number of cattle they have. It’s a story you hear every so often: An entrepreneur with an idea good enough for federal entities like Sandia to invest in and create solutions to decades-old problems.

Businesses like Lisk’s are reflected in Sandia’s latest economic impact report, which notes the federal lab’s $5.2 billion, record-breaking spending in fiscal year 2024 — surpassing FY23’s number by more than $423 million.

At a news conference Wednesday, outgoing Sandia Director James Peery reiterated to a small crowd the importance of Sandia to the state — an impact that translated last fiscal year to millions of dollars to New Mexico in gross receipts taxes and even more through subcontracts and procurement payments to local businesses.

“We have a huge impact here, not only in the salaries that we pay that then end up in buying goods in the state, (but) what our employees do with their talent, their time,” Peery said. “I think that those numbers are unprecedented.”

Sandia’s record-breaking year comes as it celebrated 75 years and has reached other vital milestones, like signing six dozen Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, or CRADAs, with nonfederal entities — a three-decade high.

The economic impact report notes that Sandia, which also has a smaller presence in Livermore, California, spent nearly $3.3 billion in labor and nonsubcontract-related payments (Sandia employs close to 17,000 workers, about 13,300 of which are in New Mexico).

Sandia also spent $1.7 billion in subcontract-related payments last fiscal year, which spanned Oct. 1, 2023, through the end of September. That includes roughly $607 million in subcontracts directly with New Mexico-based companies.

Zach Mikelson, Sandia’s small business program manager, said the labs exceeded spending with those businesses “for the eighth year in a row” with different company types, including veteran- and woman-owned businesses.

For example, Sandia spent $176.5 million with small businesses, $196 million with disadvantaged businesses and $102.4 million with woman-owned businesses. The labs spent nearly $81 million with veteran-owned businesses.

Last year, Sandia also had 507 active commercial licenses, 274 executed government agreements and amendments, 202 filed patent applications, and 123 newly issued patents for its technologies, according to the report.

“We have an obligation, since we’re federally funded, to get this technology out into the hands of large and small businesses,” Peery said.

Asked what he believed was a highlight for Sandia this past fiscal year, Peery pointed to transferring technology and hypersonics to Dynetics, the Army’s lead manufacturing contractor for the common hypersonic glide body.

And acknowledging a second Trump administration, which gets underway next week, Peery said Sandia officials are “paying attention to” changes in leadership but noted that the work it has done in the past has had bipartisan support.

“It’s the No. 1 priority of the Department of Defense to modernize the delivery systems, the weapons and the infrastructure it takes to do this job,” Peery said. “I don’t expect any significant change other than maybe an increased demand signal, but that’s been going on even in the Biden administration, (which has asked) us to fill some gaps that are really critical.”

He added, “Two-thirds of the work at the laboratory — that’s going to be solid. Not worried about anything on the national security side that we do at the laboratory.”