HELIOZ GMBH

Their core work

HELIOZ is a Vienna-based social enterprise that develops solar water disinfection (SODIS) indicator devices, enabling safe drinking water access in off-grid communities. Their flagship product, WADI, is a UV measurement tool that tells users when solar-treated water is safe to drink. Beyond hardware, they engage in frugal innovation research — designing affordable, user-centered solutions for resource-constrained settings aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

HELIOZ began their H2020 journey (2016–2017) focused squarely on water technology — participating in the large WATERSPOUTT consortium and coordinating their own SME Instrument project (WADI) to commercialize their solar disinfection indicator. By 2021, their focus broadened into frugal innovation methodology and behavioural science through the FRANCIS project, signaling a shift from pure product development toward understanding how affordable technologies get adopted by communities. This evolution suggests they are moving upstream — from building devices to shaping the frameworks that make such devices succeed in real-world settings.

HELIOZ is transitioning from a hardware-focused water tech SME toward a broader role in frugal innovation ecosystems, making them increasingly relevant for projects addressing affordability and adoption in resource-limited contexts.

How they like to work

HELIOZ operates primarily as a partner rather than a consortium leader, having coordinated only one small SME Instrument project (WADI) while joining two larger research consortia. With 23 unique partners across 14 countries from just three projects, they integrate well into diverse, international teams. Their willingness to work in large multi-country consortia (WATERSPOUTT, FRANCIS) while maintaining their niche expertise makes them a flexible, low-overhead partner for interdisciplinary projects.

Despite only three projects, HELIOZ has built a remarkably wide network of 23 partners across 14 countries, reflecting the global nature of water access and development challenges. Their partnerships span well beyond Central Europe into African and Asian research communities typical of SODIS projects.

What sets them apart

HELIOZ occupies a rare niche at the intersection of cleantech hardware and social impact — they build a physical product (WADI) but their value proposition is fundamentally about behaviour change and public health in underserved communities. For consortium builders, they bring both tangible technology demonstration capability and deep understanding of end-user adoption in developing regions. Few European SMEs combine product engineering with this level of development-sector experience.

Highlights from their portfolio

• WATERSPOUTT
  Largest project by funding (€181K to HELIOZ), addressing sustainable point-of-use water treatment — their core technology domain.
• WADI
  Their only coordinated project, an SME Instrument Phase 1 for commercializing their solar water disinfection indicator — directly tied to their product strategy.
• FRANCIS
  Marks a strategic pivot toward frugal innovation methodology and behavioural science, broadening their profile beyond water technology.