The UK Department for Transport has funded eight companies with a combined £7.3 million to develop electric aircraft charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. Leads include Vertical Aerospace, ZeroAvia, Bristow Helicopters and Syselek (UK). Project SEAN will trial BETA Technologies’ Alia CX300 electric aircraft from Inverness Airport starting August 2026.
Eight British companies have secured a combined £7.3 million in UK government funding to develop electric aircraft charging systems and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure for zero-emission flight.
The funding, announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) on July 23, 2026, comes through round one of the zero emission flight demonstrator competition, run by Innovate UK. It forms part of a wider £43 million government package for next-generation aviation technology. Projects will run for up to 24 months from August 2026.
Two projects focus directly on electric aircraft charging infrastructure. ECLiPSE, led by Vertical Aerospace of Bristol with partners University of Bath and InnCat Ltd, will receive £1,752,747 toward a £3,372,793 total project cost to develop high-power charging and thermal management systems, aimed at cutting costs and integration time for electric aircraft at airports across South West England and South Wales.
A second charging project, SPARC-AIR, led by Syselek (UK) Limited with the University of Warwick and Daedal Research LLP, will receive £197,308 of a £249,997 total budget. Based in Greater London, the project will produce a blueprint for UK airport electrification, covering commercial models and regulatory requirements for recharging electric aircraft during turnarounds.
The largest single award goes to HyPRIME, led by ZeroAvia Limited with partners ULEMCO Ltd, Geopura Ltd, Bristol Airport Ltd and Birmingham Airport Ltd. The South West England-based project will receive £2,124,651 of a £3,417,518 total cost to build a mobile liquid hydrogen refuelling vehicle and test hydrogen-powered ground support equipment at commercial airports.
CHOSAN, led by Badgerworks Limited with partners Weslake, Unitrove Innovate Ltd and Bristol Airport Limited, will receive £1,153,790 of a £1,722,191 total budget for a UK-wide programme demonstrating liquid hydrogen as an aviation fuel through point-to-point flights on regional routes of up to 500 kilometers.
In Scotland, Project SEAN — Scottish electric aviation network — is led by Bristow Helicopters Limited, working with Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, Skyports Infrastructure Limited, Electric Aviation Maven Limited, Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership and BETA Technologies Inc. The project will receive £1,522,896 of a £2,125,155 total cost to run a three-month series of demonstration flights using the BETA Alia CX300 aircraft across a hub-and-spoke network centered on Inverness Airport.
Three smaller feasibility studies round out the list. Equilibrion Limited, working with Bristol Airport, will receive £93,164 of a £135,237 total cost to study liquid hydrogen supply infrastructure at the airport. Urban Foresight Limited, with partners Cormorant Seaplanes Ltd, Electric Aviation Maven Ltd and HITRANS, will receive £190,080 of a £249,943 budget for a hydrogen aviation roadmap covering the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Electric Aviation Group Limited, working with Viridian Intelligence Ltd in South West England, will receive £174,772 of a £249,674 total cost for its Sky-Zero project, which studies how flight operations can avoid contrail formation.
According to Heidi Alexander, secretary of state for transport, said: “The next generation of flight is taking off in the UK. By powering up electric and hydrogen-powered planes, we’re bringing passengers closer to the flights of the future – while creating skilled jobs, backing UK businesses and spreading economic growth to all four corners of the country.”
DfT and Innovate UK said they are reviewing the case for further funding through the competition.
The UK’s aerospace and aviation sector is worth £20 billion to the economy, according to the department.
