Electrical Systems at High Altitude Research Facility (ELSA)

A new high-altitude facility in the UK will test aircraft electrical components at megawatt-scale power under extreme cold and low-pressure conditions. Battery power works well for cars and small planes, but larger aircraft need hybrid systems that combine batteries with sustainable aviation fuel or liquid hydrogen. These systems require electric drives far more powerful and compact than anything currently available. No existing UK facility can test such components at the necessary scale and under realistic high-altitude conditions—where thin air and freezing temperatures change how electronics behave. The project will build a climatic test chamber and a digital twin, a computer model that mirrors the physical tests. Researchers will use both to study new materials, designs, and manufacturing methods for electric propulsion components, from individual parts up to complete megawatt-scale systems. If successful, the facility will accelerate development of cleaner propulsion for large aircraft and heavy off-road vehicles like mining trucks. This directly supports the UK’s Net Zero goals by reducing energy demand in sectors that are currently hard to decarbonise. The research is applied and mission-driven, with a clear target: making hybrid-electric flight commercially viable.