Cranfield University opens new power and propulsion labs

Above: Staff, partners, funders and construction teams celebrate the opening (20.11.2025).
Courtesy Cranfield 

The new Cranfield Power and Propulsion Laboratories (CPPL) give academia and industry a collaborative space for advanced research into new technologies for decarbonisation.

Built right next to the airport airside boundary, at the centre of the Cranfield campus, the new lab spaces will also be used to train new talent needed by industry, including master’s and PhD students at Cranfield.

The new Chair of Cranfield University’s Council, Sir Andrew Haines, was the guest of honour at the opening event, alongside local Cranfield Councillor Sue Clark. Partners, funders and industry connections from the CH2i project were also in attendance and able to tour the new facility as well as hear project updates and research news.

Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Karen Holford DBE FREng welcomed the new development: “It’s facilities like these which enable us at Cranfield to work so effectively with our industry partners. That collaboration is in our DNA and it’s something we are very proud of. The new labs extend our research capacities even further, enabling us to make more positive advances towards green energy.”

Professor Vassilios Pachidis, Head of Centre for Propulsion and Thermal Power Engineering, oversees the new facility. He said: “The new Cranfield Power and Propulsion Laboratories (CPPL) will help shape the future of flight. By solving the challenges around the aerodynamic and thermodynamic integration of advanced power and propulsion systems into aircraft, we will make aviation cleaner and more efficient.

“The new labs will help accelerate the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and H2, explore systems for electrification and hybridisation, as well as the potential benefits of supercritical CO2 and other ‘unusual’ working fluids for thermal management applications.

“This is another great step forward for the UK’s drive towards sustainable aviation.”

Developing a hub of hydrogen research
The CH2i project aims to unlock the technical challenges around hydrogen-enabled aviation, connecting and growing research facilities at the University.

CH2i also includes the Hydrogen Integration Research Centre (HIRC), which is under construction and due to open in 2026. The HIRC extends an existing facility, creating new labs for advanced materials synthesis and testing for hydrogen-based technologies, analytical laboratories and a dedicated innovation area to develop next generation hydrogen pilot plant demonstration, electrolysis, catalyst development and green hydrogen.

CH2i is supported by Research England and partners under the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund and will create the first large-scale hydrogen research hub at a UK airport. The main contractor for the Cranfield Power and Propulsion Laboratories was Lindum Group, project management was by 3CProjects, cost advisor was Gardiner Theobald and the lead designer was Anotherkind.