TDA Research, Inc.

TDA Research, Inc., a for-profit subchapter S corporation headquartered in Golden, Colorado, delivers advanced materials science, chemical engineering, sensing technology, and energy systems research and development to federal agencies almost entirely through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs as a small business prime contractor (99% of recent awards), with dominant participation in total small business set-asides across Department of Defense, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and civilian agency research portfolios.

The company competes predominantly under total small business set-asides, characterizing its entire footprint. Across the source data spanning 1989 to April 2026, TDA Research holds 886 awards (875 prime, 11 sub) with combined potential value of $230.2 million and obligated dollars of $432.7 million. Recent activity shows relative stability: 41 awards in 2022, 43 in 2023, 29 in 2024, 32 in 2025, and 7 through April 2026. The company's capability portfolio centers on SBIR and STTR Phase I-III research across materials innovation, energy technologies, medical devices, advanced sensing, and environmental solutions. Representative work includes a $2.0 million Phase II contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for a compact portable medical oxygen generator; a $2.8 million Phase III contract from NASA Shared Services Center for low-temperature secondary batteries for lunar surface environments; a $1.92 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract for Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS High) infrared sensor research; a $4.3 million Army Research, Development and Engineering Command BAA contract for engineered materials and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design; a $3.2 million Defense Health Agency contract for a portable oxygen concentrator with extended shelf life; a $1.31 million Army RDECOM contract for chemical protective bead fabrics using metal-organic frameworks; and multiple Missile Defense Agency, Defense Microelectronics Activity, and U.S. Special Operations Command awards spanning propellant chemistry, advanced sensing, and medical countermeasures.

Customer concentration is dispersed across defense and civilian research agencies. The top five customers by award count—Department of Energy (86 awards), NASA Shared Services Center (50 awards, $19.7 million), Army RDECOM (45 awards, $28.5 million), NASA (42 awards, $1.2 million), and Air Force Research Laboratory (42 awards, $15.7 million)—account for approximately 30% of total awards. By potential value, Army RDECOM leads with $28.5 million across 45 awards, followed by Army Medical Command ($20.8 million, 35 awards), Naval Air Warfare Center ($20.3 million, 36 awards), NASA Shared Services Center ($19.7 million, 50 awards), and Air Force Research Laboratory ($15.7 million, 42 awards). Department of Energy's 86 awards carry lower per-award value, reflecting its breadth of Phase I and small grant work. Within the next twenty-four months, 40 awards with combined potential value of $46.8 million face completion, presenting significant recompete exposure.

TDA Research recently acquired a seat on the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) government-wide indefinite delivery contract valued at $151 billion (December 29, 2025 through December 28, 2035), alongside a Basic Ordering Agreement with Naval Air Warfare Center for SBIR Phase II work and an Other Transaction IDV with U.S. Special Operations Command. The SHIELD award represents a major strategic win, positioning the company to compete across a multi-domain defense system development vehicle spanning research, prototyping, systems engineering, production, and test evaluation.

TDA Research acts almost exclusively as a prime contractor; across its SCI-reportable federal service contracts above the $150,000 threshold, the vendor self-performed all work with zero subcontractor engagement. The SCI dataset shows invoiced revenue of $779 thousand in FY2022 (3.4 FTEs), $1.3 million in FY2023 (4.3 FTEs), and $4.5 million in FY2024 (7.7 FTEs)—a sharp upward trajectory on service contract invoicing. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI-reportable contracts ranged from a 10th percentile of $63.53 per hour to a median of $178.91 per hour and a 90th percentile of $1,054.62 per hour, reflecting both junior technical labor and senior research scientist/principal investigator pricing across different contract mixes. These SCI figures represent only a subset of TDA Research's federal revenue and exclude goods, SBIR/STTR awards structured as purchase orders or definitive contracts, classified work, and the company's non-federal revenue.

The company maintains limited teaming as a subcontractor, with named sub relationships on a NASA JSC Engineering contract (CO oxidation catalyst, April 2025), a Fluor Marine Propulsion LLC Naval Nuclear Laboratory management contract (nanoparticle/ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene composite shielding, May 2024), and grant sub-awards to Colorado State University (ivermectin birdfeed formulation), University of Denver (cross-loop-resonator development), Arizona State University (multiplex electrochemical detection), and Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (membrane hybrid processes). Named subcontractors on TDA-prime awards include Pumpkin, Inc. (satellite battery module development), Prospect Life Sciences, Inc. (disinfectant formulation), Arkansas Children's Research Institute (pharmacokinetic research on tourniquets), Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. (thermal simulations), Raytheon Company (silicon boron nitride fiber validation), Kratos SRE, Inc. (materials testing), Gentex Corporation (eye protection lenses), and NEI Corporation (battery materials). The sub footprint is minimal—11 sub awards across 886 total—and the company does not operate as a feeder for larger primes.

Federal grant work spans Department of Energy (carbon capture, hydrogen production, battery chemistry, fuel cells, electrolyzer membranes, direct air capture), Department of Agriculture (kraft lignin-based CO2 sorbents, bacterial plant pathogen control), National Institutes of Health and related health institutes (pediatric airway trainer, pathogen inactivation devices, portable medical oxygen, blast overpressure prediction), Environmental Protection Agency (radon mitigation, photocatalytic air treatment), and Department of Transportation (stormwater treatment, lithium battery state-of-charge sensors). TDA Research acts as grant recipient (not sub-recipient) on these awards, which total dozens of active and closed projects with completion dates extending through 2026.

The company's category concentration spans primarily NAICS 541712 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences, except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) with 210 awards, followed by related R&D classifications. Across NAICS and PSC codes, work tilts heavily toward basic research in space applications, defense applied research, and natural resources/environmental R&D. Year-over-year award volume declined from 43 in 2023 to 29 in 2024, suggesting possible pipeline tightening or selective pursuit strategy, though FY2024 SCI invoicing more than tripled, indicating strong execution on awarded contracts.