Battelle Memorial Institute (or simply Battelle) is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The institute opened in 1929 but traces its origins to the 1923 will of Ohio industrialist Gordon Battelle which provided for its creation and his mother Annie Maude Norton Battelle who left the bulk of the family fortune to the institute after her death in 1925. Originally focusing on contract research and development work in the areas of metals and material science, Battelle is now an international science and technology enterprise that explores emerging areas of science, develops and commercializes technology, and manages laboratories for customers. It has 3,200 employees, and manages another 29,500 in ten United States Department of Energy National Laboratories.

Nonprofit status

Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code because it is organized for charitable, scientific and educational purposes. From 1969 to 1975, the institute was involved in a lawsuit over whether it was "neglecting its philanthropic promises" as a nonprofit organization. It reached an $80 million settlement in 1975, used to demolish Union Station, build Battelle Hall at the Columbus Convention Center, refurbish the Ohio Theatre and create Battelle-Darby Creek Metro Park. The institute lost its nonprofit status in the 1990s, though regained it by 2001.

Operations

Contract research business

Battelle serves the following: In addition to its Columbus, Ohio headquarters, Battelle has offices in Aberdeen, Maryland; West Jefferson, Ohio; Seattle, Washington; Arlington, Virginia; Norwell, Massachusetts; Charlottesville, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boulder, Colorado; and Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.

Federal government project management

National laboratories

In addition to operating its own research facilities, as of 2022, Battelle managed or co-managed on behalf of the United States Department of Energy the following national laboratories:

Homeland Security

On behalf of the Department of Homeland Security:

National Science Foundation projects

Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy (OSU/Glenn)

Battelle provides funds for a public policy research center at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs of Ohio State University to focus on scholarly questions associated with science and technology policy. The Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy at Ohio State in July 2011.

Notable projects

Notable Battelle projects include: