What Physical Sciences does

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) is a privately held, employee-owned contract research and development company founded in 1973 and headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts. The company develops advanced technologies for U.S. defense, aerospace, medical, and energy markets, with a portfolio spanning CBRN sensors and systems (including the PERL Detector Ecosystem), advanced lithium-ion batteries (via its Imperia Batteries division), propulsion systems (rotating detonation engines, green monopropellant thrusters, solid rocket motors), high-temperature ceramic matrix composites, optical devices and passive optical sensors (AIRIS hyperspectral imager, LOTT computer vision system, HSI Gimbals, BioWARD), LIDARs, energetic materials (Alane, ASCENT monopropellant), space systems, and pharma/biomedical sensors. The company holds 160 patents and operates R&D and production facilities in Andover, Wilmington, Methuen, and New Hampshire, with a 200 MWh/year battery production capacity established in October 2025.

PSI operates a sales-led, services-plus-products business model. The majority of revenue is generated through government R&D contracts, primarily Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards, supplemented by direct contracts with U.S. Department of Defense agencies (Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Space Force, Special Operations Command), NASA, DARPA, DTRA, and the Department of Energy. Reported annual technology development revenue is approximately $100M. The company has no disclosed commercial customers, distribution channels, or public pricing; all sales occur through direct government contracting. PSI's 250 employee-owners include a deep technical bench of VPs and Group Leaders organized around propulsion, energy, photonics, materials, applied optics, and composites, supporting a vertically integrated R&D-to-production model.

Name

Physical Sciences

Legal name

Physical Sciences Inc.

Website

https://psicorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Defense Research and Development Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Military Power Supplies, RF/Microwave Components & Ruggedized Electronics (IMABAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

CBRN Detection, Protection & Decontamination Systems (IMABAOAO), Explosives, Energetics & Pyrotechnics (Military-Grade) (IMABAHAK), Space Structures, Mechanisms & Thermal Control (IMABACAF)

Keywords

• Defense technology
• Advanced lithium-ion batteries
• CBRN sensor systems
• Hyperspectral imaging sensors
• Propulsion and energetics

Headquarters

HQ city

Andover

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government R&D Contracts: PSI generates the majority of its revenue through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards and direct contracts with U.S. government defense and civilian agencies including Navy, Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Space Force, NASA, DARPA, DTRA, and the Department of Energy. The company has been recognized as a leader in SBIR/STTR programs since their inception.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Physical Sciences Inc. provides contract research and development services and manufactures advanced technologies for U.S. defense and civilian agencies. The company's portfolio spans CBRN sensor systems, advanced lithium-ion batteries, propulsion systems, high-temperature composites, energetic materials, hyperspectral imaging sensors, LIDAR systems, and pharma/biomedical sensors, developed primarily through SBIR/STTR programs and direct federal contracts.

Product overview

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) operates as a research and development organization offering a diversified portfolio of advanced technology products across defense, aerospace, medical, and energy sectors. The company's product portfolio consists of three main categories: PSI Production (mature product lines including CBRN Sensors/Systems with the PERL Ecosystem, Batteries for military applications, High Temperature Composites, Space/Missile Test Systems, and Pharma/Biomedical Sensors), Licensed Technologies (available for external licensing), and Prototypes & Emerging Tech (advanced development-stage products). The product line spans optical devices and passive optical sensors (AIRIS, LOTT, HSI Gimbals, BioWARD), LIDARs and laser-based sensors, propulsion systems, energetics materials, advanced materials and structures, space systems, electricity/magnetism systems, bio-pharma products, and sensor networks. The company leverages SBIR/STTR programs to develop specialized technologies for Department of Defense and other government mission agencies, with recent expansion into domestic battery manufacturing for military applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Imperia Batteries: Division of Physical Sciences Inc. specializing in advanced battery technologies including high energy density, low temperature, and flexible lithium-ion batteries for defense, aerospace, and space applications.

Products and services

• PERL Ecosystem A fully supported modular product line enabling CONOPs-optimized configurations for CBRN threat detection with actionable information output. Designed for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear protection of critical infrastructure.
• Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries (Imperia Batteries) Next generation lithium-ion energy systems for defense, aerospace, and space applications. Includes high power density batteries for underwater, mobile, and airborne defense applications, low temperature batteries, flexible batteries, and high energy density cells.
• High Temperature Composites Advanced ceramic matrix composites including PSC-10 and UHT-21 for high-temperature aerospace, propulsion, and space applications. Includes syntactic foams for thermal protection systems for extreme environments.
• Space and Missile Test Services and Systems Aerothermal materials testing, signature phenomenology, and missile test equipment including IR scene projectors for hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing. Includes FAST, AO Test Services, MIDJET, and HT Test Services.
• Pharma and Biomedical Sensors Pharma process sensors and biomedical imaging products including LyoFlux lyophilization monitoring, Lyo Proc Dev, OCT FDM, TDLAS FD, and optical diagnostic tools for pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical device companies.
• AIRIS (Adaptive Infrared Imaging Spectroradiometer) Passive hyperspectral LWIR imaging system for remotely detecting chemical agent and toxic industrial chemical releases from fixed site, ground mobile, and airborne platforms using Fabry-Perot etalon technology.
• LOTT (Low-Shot Object Tracking and Targeting) AI/ML computer vision analysis framework for aided target recognition (ATR) detecting and identifying targets in multi-channel EO/IR imagery with real-time execution on embedded mobile platforms. Includes 3D scene reconstruction for hazard/obstacle avoidance.
• HSI Gimbals Family of 5-inch gimbal payloads equipped with hyperspectral imaging sensors and broadband contextual cameras designed for small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) with staring-mode operation.
• BioWARD (Biological Wide-Area Aerosol Detector) Standalone bioaerosol detection sensor using physics-based plume model with thermal object tracking, threat probability generation, and geolocation via triangulation for biological threat detection.
• Propulsion Systems Air-breathing and solid-propellant systems including Rotating Detonation Engines, Green Monopropellant Thruster, and solid rocket motor test capabilities for defense and space applications.
• Energetics Materials Synthesis and characterization of energetic materials including Aluminum Hydride (Alane), ASCENT Monopropellant, and Insensitive Munition Compliant Composite Case for defense propulsion applications.
• LIDARs and Laser Based Sensors Actively illuminating sensors including CS Flash LIDAR, Ceilometer, SHSCAD, multipath extinction detector, terrain map, and expendable seawater optical attenuation meter for various defense and environmental applications.
• Sensor Networks Advanced networks for situational awareness including CB-SIGMA, Sonar SLAM, and TIGER systems for critical infrastructure protection.
• Materials and Structures New materials, structures, and manufacturing techniques including sorbents, antimicrobials, rare earth element recovery technologies, and deployable structures (modular collapsible hydro-electric generators, lightweight folding bridges).
• Electricity and Magnetism Systems Advanced antennas, high-power microwave directed energy systems, and microwave photonic technologies for defense and electronic warfare applications.
• Space Systems Custom antennas, spacecraft coatings, large space structures, and custom components supporting emerging satellite requirements, including photonic integrated circuit assisted single-photon detectors for space-based quantum networking.
• Bio Pharma Products Wearable and optical sensing products including SMART family (OB, Sleeve, BD, Cell Sorter), Brain Imager, Nerve Imager, and OCT-based diagnostic systems for medical and pharmaceutical applications.
• Optical Devices Nano-structure materials for optical systems and integrated photonics including meta-materials, PPLNs, OP-GaAs, and photonic integrated circuits (PICs).
• Missile Test Equipment Live-fire test stand instrumentation and IR scene projectors for hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) missile testing.
• Licensed Technology Program PSI technologies available for licensing including optical devices, passive optical sensors, LIDARs, sensor networks, and space systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• Production capacity increased from 2 MWh/year to 200 MWh/year with Methuen facility acquisition
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Brown UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI and Brown University are collaborating on the Expeditionary Carbon Utilization for Energy Resilience and Stabilization (ExCURSion) program sponsored by DARPA to develop advanced materials for CO2 capture and conversion to fuel. Brown provides academic research capabilities in materials science and chemistry.
• NASA Research PartnercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI partners with research institutes for NASA projects, including in-situ X-ray computed tomography imaging to characterize physical changes within battery cells at extreme temperatures for lunar/Mars surface missions.
• University Partner (NASA PICA-SPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI and university partner are developing Photonic Integrated Circuit Assisted Single-Photon Detectors (PICA-SPDs) for NASA to increase bandwidth and timing resolution of single-photon detectors for space-based quantum networking applications.
• University Partner (NASA Q-SPIRIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI and university partner are developing Quantum-entangled SPectrometer using Infra-Red Interference Technology (Q-SPIRIT) for NASA to realize low SWaP infrared gas-absorption spectroscopy without cryogenic cooling.
• Industrial Partners (MOF Production)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI is collaborating with businesses in the hydrogen energy market to integrate and evaluate novel hydrogen storage materials in commercially viable hydrogen storage systems.
• University Partner (Navy HTPB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI and university partner are developing a predictive model for hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) polymer performance for rocket motor propellants under Navy sponsorship.
• University Partner (NIH Biomanufacturing)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI, in collaboration with university partner, is developing an in-line Raman cytometry sensor probe for real-time monitoring of host cells in viral vector culturing bioreactors for NIH.
• Army Research Partner (sUAS Laser Power)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPSI and research partner are developing a laser power conversion system for extended endurance of small unmanned aerial systems under Army STTR program. Partner brings multi-junction photovoltaic research expertise.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Teledyne FLIR Defense: Established defense sensor and EO/IR imaging incumbent serving the same DoD customers with broader multi-sensor portfolios. Overlaps with PSI's AIRIS, HSI gimbals, LOTT, and LIDAR lines at a much larger scale.
• SAIC: Large federal-services and defense IT/R&D integrator with deep SBIR contracting heritage and multi-agency footprint. Comparable on customer overlap and SBIR-derived pipeline; orders of magnitude larger.
• Leidos: Large federal defense and civilian R&D contractor with significant work in CBRN, sensors, energetics, and biomedical for DoD and intelligence customers. Comparable customer base and SBIR-to-program pipeline at much greater scale.
• Aerojet Rocketdyne (L3Harris): Major propulsion and energetics incumbent now part of L3Harris, supplying rocket motors and propellants to DoD and NASA. Comparable on propulsion/energetics product lines; vastly larger scale and prime-contractor posture.

Direct peers

• SRI International: Non-profit R&D organization operating federally funded programs in sensors, photonics, biomedical, and AI for defense and intelligence customers. Closely comparable in contract mix, technology portfolio, and Phase III transition model.
• Southwest Research Institute (SwRI): Non-profit applied R&D organization heavily engaged in defense, propulsion, energetics, and space programs with government clients. Comparable in technology breadth, contract-based revenue model, and pivot toward advanced manufacturing.
• EaglePicher Technologies: Specialized defense battery manufacturer supplying military-grade lithium-ion and thermal batteries to Navy, Air Force, and space programs. Most direct comparable for PSI's Imperia Batteries division and the Methuen capacity ramp.
• Battelle Memorial Institute: Large non-profit R&D contractor managing national-security, energy, and biomedical sensor programs for federal agencies. Comparable in mission focus, federal-customer mix, and diversified technology portfolio.
• Applied Research Associates (ARA): Privately held, employee-owned defense and applied-science R&D firm of comparable size with a similar mix of SBIR-derived government contracts and diversified technology lines (sensors, energetics, materials). Closest structural analog to PSI's ownership and business model.

Regional players

• MIT Lincoln Laboratory: Federally funded R&D center focused on national-security sensors, communications, and prototype development for the DoD. Strong peer for technology overlap in sensors, CBRN, and prototype-to-production transitions, though non-commercial and federally funded.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/115239218490063
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/physical-sciences-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Physical Sciences