High-voltage lithium batteries for electric GPUs in the Ground Support Equipment sector

Electrification of ground support equipment in the airport sector

Airports around the world never sleep: every day millions of passengers and tonnes of cargo move across runways, terminals and aprons, pushing operations to unprecedented levels. In this constant movement, efficiency and sustainability are no longer optional choices: they’re the compass guiding manufacturers and operators towards the future.

Increasingly stringent European emissions regulations are pushing manufacturers and airport operators to rethink their infrastructure and equipment. The transition towards electric solutions is now a strategic priority, especially in the world of ground support equipment (GSE): GPUs, tow tractors, pushbacks, belt loaders, PRM platforms, passenger stairs, tractors and special-purpose vehicles that ensure aircraft operations on the ground.

Electrifying this equipment means:

• Reducing emissions and noise
• Increasing operational reliability
• Reducing total cost of ownership
• Improving fleet energy flexibility

For over 12 years Flash Battery has supported leading international OEMs and ground handlers in the development of customised lithium solutions designed to meet the most complex requirements of the GSE sector. A tailored approach that makes it possible to electrify any vehicle, optimising performance and ensuring more sustainable operations.

Among the most significant innovations, the electric GPU stands out as a strategic solution for powering aircraft auxiliary services on the ground. Although originally developed for airport use, the GPU has proven to be extremely versatile in settings such as ports and construction sites, where electrical infrastructure is often limited. For this reason, it’s worth looking beyond traditional airport applications and recognising the Ground Power Unit’s ability to deliver stable, autonomous and safe energy wherever power is unavailable or insufficient.

It is precisely this dual nature – both specialist and cross-sector – that makes the GPU an ideal application for showcasing Flash Battery’s bespoke design approach.

Upgrade of an integrated high-voltage battery system for electric GPUs

The project first took shape in 2019 as part of a collaboration with an international ground support equipment manufacturer active in major European, US and Middle Eastern airports.

The goal was to deliver an advanced technological upgrade for an existing high-voltage solution, improving its integration within the GPU’s electrical architecture and raising standards of safety, reliability and operational continuity.

In its previous configuration, the electric GPU used a modular solution made up of small battery units with basic electronic controls. This configuration required the GPU manufacturer to manage:

• Highly complex assembly
• Numerous modules connected in series and parallel
• External non-integrated auxiliary components
• Long assembly times
• Overall poor quality

In a high-voltage system this fragmentation translated into lower overall reliability, increased operating costs and greater management complexity across the machine’s life cycle.

Flash Battery thus developed an integrated high-voltage battery system designed to simplify the architecture, reduce the number of components and improve the overall efficiency of the electric GPU.

Design of a custom HV battery for airport applications

From the first discussions with the customer it was clear that this was a highly complex engineering project. Flash Battery was engaged to overcome the limitations of existing modular solutions, tackling a particularly demanding challenge that required close collaboration between our R&D team and the customer’s technical team.

The objective required concentrating high levels of energy in a reduced space while ensuring full compliance with the main international standards for industrial high-voltage batteries, including requirements for transport and electrical and electromagnetic safety.

But the complexity went beyond just the design: the aim was to deliver a solution that could be industrialised, tested and maintained throughout its entire life cycle.

The most important elements of the project included:

• Integration of safety systems (insulation monitoring, pre-charge, MSD etc.).
• Implementation of advanced management logics required by the customer.
• Ability to use batteries in parallel to achieve high energy storage capacity.
• Industrialisation of HV batteries.
• Design to pass the tests required by the project: safety, mechanical, EMC and sector-specific.
• After-sales design.

These requirements made a fully custom design approach necessary, capable of raising the operational standards of the electric GPU.

Integrated high-voltage architecture with advanced BMS and 4G connectivity

The project led to the development of a range of HV lithium batteries dedicated to electric GPUs, designed to meet different operational requirements with two energy capacities of 50 and 125 kWh.

Both configurations use LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry, chosen to ensure maximum safety, stability and a service life of over 4,000 cycles, guaranteeing high performance even in demanding operating conditions.

Creating two battery capacities makes it possible to store large amounts of energy using only a few batteries in parallel. This drastically reduces the number of components, simplifies the architecture and lowers the cost of the overall solution. This energy modularity makes it possible to electrify different types of GPU, ensuring operational flexibility, full integration with the machine and consistent reliability throughout the system’s life cycle.

But the battery isn’t just an energy storage unit. It’s an active part of the machine because it integrates all key systems internally:

• Insulation monitoring
• MSD (Manual Service Disconnect)
• HVIL
• Heating system
• Data logger
• Gas sensor
• Integrated fire extinguishers
• 4G connectivity for remote monitoring and predictive maintenance

In addition to the hardware, the firmware in this application was also customised to implement specific functions required by the OEM. Thanks to the integration of a 4G connection, the customer can monitor the entire fleet of GPUs distributed across multiple airports in real time, centralising fleet management, anticipating maintenance actions and optimising the operational performance of its GSE fleets.

This 4G connection, integrated with the Flash Data Center remote monitoring system, enables continuous monitoring of battery parameters, accurately identifying the batteries’ state of health and sending proactive alerts in the event of any critical issues. This data-driven approach makes it possible to implement predictive battery maintenance strategies, reduce unplanned downtime and optimise the Total Cost of Ownership of the entire GSE fleet.

In this context, safety was conceived as an active, multi-layer system: the integration of gas sensors allows continuous monitoring of the battery pack’s operating conditions, enabling early detection of anomalies and activation of preventive protection strategies. This approach is completed with the integrated fire extinguishers, which offer an additional layer of protection as they are designed to react automatically and locally in the event of a critical incident, thus reducing the risk of propagation and increasing protection for the machine, the operating environment and operators.

The combination of high-voltage technology, integrated architecture and advanced connectivity transforms the solution into a true competitive advantage for OEMs and fleet managers, making the electric GPU a complete, safe and easy-to-manage system.

The Flash Battery approach: Co-design of high-voltage batteries for OEMs in the GSE sector

What truly made the difference in this project was Flash Battery’s collaborative approach. This wasn’t just a battery order, it was an actual co-design process based on attentive listening, technical expertise and a long-term vision.

From the earliest stages, our Research and Development team worked closely with the customer’s R&D team, establishing an ongoing technical dialogue that made it possible to analyse operational requirements beyond the initial specifications, assessing application constraints, usage scenarios and future objectives. This method built a strong relationship of trust, transforming Flash Battery into a strategic partner rather than a simple supplier.

The customer chose Flash Battery for its ability to tackle a complex project, move away from modular solutions with small batteries and develop a tailor-made battery designed specifically to increase the efficiency of the high-voltage electric GPU.

From a technological standpoint, a decisive factor was the switch to LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry, which is safer, more stable and longer-lasting in terms of life cycle, thus ensuring an optimised TCO compared with previous solutions. The large-format battery architecture also delivered tangible benefits, reducing the number of connections and components, speeding up diagnostics and making after-sales service significantly more efficient.

From custom project to scalable high-voltage platform for GSE fleets

The operational benefits were clearly measurable from the moment the batteries were installed on the electric GPUs: reduced costs, greater system reliability and significantly simplified management of after-sales support. The effectiveness of the solution accelerated its extension to other types of ground support equipment, such as airport tractors, further expanding the possibilities for integration within GSE fleets.

Today, the project represents an international reference across Europe, the United States and the Middle East, making a concrete contribution to the airport electrification processes of major international hubs.

This result was built over time, starting in 2019 and continuing with a process of ongoing collaboration between Flash Battery’s R&D, IT, Sales and After-Sales functions and the customer’s technical and operational teams, supporting the evolution of the solution in response to the sector’s real-world needs.

This experience shows how an approach based on continuous co-design can translate into reliable, scalable solutions capable of adapting to different operating contexts and markets throughout the product life cycle.

In the coming years the evolution of airport infrastructure towards carbon-neutral models will require increasingly integrated, intelligent and interoperable high-voltage storage systems. The architectures developed in this project represent a scalable technology platform for future generations of electrified ground support equipment.