Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Aerospace
  • /
  • Study to examine aircraft electrification impact on Heathrow infrastructure

Aerospace

Study to examine aircraft electrification impact on Heathrow infrastructure

Heathrow Airport is looking to understand how electric aircraft will impact future infrastructure needs with the help of researchers from Cranfield University, the University of Essex and the University of Reading.

Above: Heathrow Airport.
Courtesy Cranfield University

The first phase of the Airport Infrastructural Requirements for Electrical Propulsion Systems (AIREPS) project, which started on 1 December, will comprise a six-month feasibility study of the physical infrastructural and airspace components associated with aircraft electrification at Heathrow. An evaluation of potential modelling and simulation tools to help develop a digital twin of these assets will also be conducted.

Advertisement
Gulfstream RT

Outputs from AIREPS will help aid strategic decision making for airports generally as to how they should plan for an increasingly electrically powered future for aviation.

Matt Prescott, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, Heathrow Airport, which is funding the research, said: “Heathrow has an important role to play in encouraging the use of cleaner, greener and more innovative aircraft as it focuses on sustainable and responsible growth. We have already committed to free landing charges for the first electric aircraft as we believe it to be a viable option in years to come, as the industry decouples growth in aviation with a growth in carbon. Now we are proud to be bringing some of the UK’s brightest universities together to ensure the airport will be ready to support sustainable flight in the future.”

Dr Thomas Budd, Lecturer in the Centre for Air Transport Management, Cranfield University, said: “Safely and efficiently integrating electric aircraft into existing systems and supply chains represents a key challenge to fulfilling the potential offered by this technology. This includes questions around the optimal nature of in-house charging facilities, electrical power and distribution requirements, and certification of safe connections between aircraft and charging infrastructure.”

The research will also consider the impact of electric aircraft in the context of resilience and climate change adaptation. Professor Paul Williams, Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, said: “We know that departing aircraft suffer from reduced lift when the air is warmer, potentially leading to take-off weight restrictions in the summer. We will use climate model projections to analyse the operational consequences this will have for electric aircraft.”

The research will be informed by the use of advanced virtual infrastructure (digital twin technology), airspace simulation modelling approaches, machine learning, and intelligent analytics, which will be used to explore the complex resource management challenges future flight technologies will create.

Advertisement
DSEI 2025

Dr Faiyaz Doctor, from the Intelligent Connected Societies Group at the University of Essex, who is leading on the modelling and simulation part of the research, said: “Sustainable aviation is integral to how we as a society continue to use air travel in the future. To meet this need, the AIREPS project seeks to scope the development of future flight ready infrastructure.”

The project was officially launched at Cranfield’s recent Aviation and the Environment Conference.

Outputs from Phase 1 will be used to inform subsequent phases of the research, where it is envisaged that the live research airport environment at Cranfield, including the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC), with other specialist facilities at the University of Reading and University of Essex, could be used be used to enable progress of the research from TRL 3 to 4 (Phase 1) to TRL 5 (pilot scale).

 

Advertisement
Babcock LB
Advanced Engineering 2025 extends additives and composites spotlight

Aerospace Events

Advanced Engineering 2025 extends additives and composites spotlight

7 July 2025

Taking place on 29th and 30th October 2025 at the NEC Birmingham, Advanced Engineering will have a new expanded Composites Pavilion, SME Village, the ADS Pavilion, AM2 Forum (Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials Forum) and a focused Electronics Zone.

CAA appoints experts to strengthen economic regs and growth

Aerospace

CAA appoints experts to strengthen economic regs and growth

7 July 2025

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has appointed a team of specialists at the forefront of economics and competition policy to provide strategic advice to the aviation regulator on economic regulation and the challenges and opportunities in enabling the aviation sector to transform and grow.

Skyports and Ajman Transport to advance AAM in Ajman

Aerospace

Skyports and Ajman Transport to advance AAM in Ajman

7 July 2025

Ajman Transport Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Skyports Infrastructure, with the aim of exploring opportunities for cooperation in the field of advanced air mobility (AAM) for smart aerial transport, including air taxi services, in the Emirate.

IASL trials AGlaze Aviation Sealant

Aerospace

IASL trials AGlaze Aviation Sealant

7 July 2025

Island Aviation Services Limited (IASL), operating as Maldivian, has become the second floatplane operator to trial the AGlaze Aviation Sealant product, with AGlaze International Ltd and Gryphon Aviation Partners (UK) Ltd reporting it is already delivering positive results.

Advertisement
Teledyne
Birmingham Airport supports young care experienced adults into work

Aerospace

Birmingham Airport supports young care experienced adults into work

7 July 2025

Birmingham Airport has supported care experienced young adults into work, as part of a specialised Midlands-wide initiative aimed at tackling youth unemployment.

Malaysia Aviation Group orders 20 more A330neo

Aerospace

Malaysia Aviation Group orders 20 more A330neo

7 July 2025

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of national carrier Malaysia Airlines, has placed a firm order with Airbus for 20 more A330-900 aircraft.

Advertisement
Gulfstream RT