Heliowave Technologies Inc.

Heliowave Technologies Inc., a self-certified small disadvantaged business based in College Station, Texas, develops biosensing and bioburden testing platforms for federal research and development programs, operating exclusively as a prime contractor on SBIR Phase II contracts and federal research grants. The company operates across federal health, defense, and agriculture research portfolios with five awards totaling $2.6 million in combined potential value, though $3.2 million has been obligated across the portfolio — indicating execution ahead of ceiling.

Heliowave's capability portfolio centers on rapid microbial detection and bioburden assessment for biomanufacturing and food safety applications. The company's flagship platform, HELIOSAFE-2, combines label-free, automated sterility evaluation using droplet microfluidics and impedance detection; Heliowave received a $1.749858 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency SBIR Phase II contract awarded August 22, 2022, to advance HELIOSAFE-2 through August 2025, building on a prior $225,000 SBIR Phase I award received in 2021. A second capability, HELIOQUANT, applies the same droplet microfluidics and impedance-detection approach to bioburden assessment in biomanufacturing environments; the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases funded this platform with a $466,950 research grant awarded July 8, 2022, with completion targeted June 30, 2024. The company's third major effort, HELIOCLEAN, is a portable, palm-sized biosensing device for rapid detection of foodborne pathogens including E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria; the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $175,000 SBIR project grant on September 1, 2025, with completion targeted April 30, 2027 (CFDA 10.212). Most recently, the National Institutes of Health awarded a $600,000 firm fixed-price definitive contract on February 26, 2026, for cell and gene therapy process analytical technology and quality control testing, completion March 31, 2027.

Customer concentration spans four federal agencies with balanced exposure. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency leads in combined potential value with two awards ($2 million), while the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture each hold one award. All awards are designated Total Small Business set-asides. Two awards totaling $600,000 in combined potential value reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and face recompete exposure. The company has not served as a subcontractor across any awards in the source data.