EECL invests in RF production, test and cleanroom facilities to include on-demand lab hire

European Engineering Consultancy Ltd (EECL) has made a significant investment to upgrade its production, test and cleanroom capabilities to better serve its client base. The enhanced facility also allows EECL to provide on-demand laboratory access for RF and microwave engineers working across aerospace, defence and other advanced RF systems for harsh-environment applications.

The refurbished space has been built from the ground up to support development, rework, inspection and environmental validation of an array of RF hardware, including in-orbit payloads operating across all microwave and mmWave frequencies, including V-band. It also establishes a lab-as-a-service model, giving engineers and organisations developing precision RF hardware access to high-specification test and measurement tools without the need for significant capital investment. The facility is particularly suited to space and satellite programmes where production volumes are low, but performance requirements are highly demanding.

The lab and cleanroom include the following advanced test and measurement equipment:

• Thermal chamber testing for environmental and reliability validation

• Advanced rework and BGA replacement for complex, high-density RF assemblies

• Vapour phase reflow soldering, enabling uniform heating for sensitive components while minimising thermal stress

• Simulation services – including Ansys HFSS,  mechanical,  thermal & electromechanical

• Environmental stress screening (ESS) to identify early-life failures in mission-critical hardware

• IPC Class 3 and ECSS-compliant inspection, supporting space-grade manufacturing standards

• Controlled and specialised storage for sensitive RF and electronic components

This strategic investment comes at a pivotal time, as EECL continues to support next-generation space programmes. Recent success stories include the HydroGNSS climate mission and the Luna Orbit navigation programme, underscoring the accelerated demand for high-frequency RF capability across the aerospace industry.

“Access to advanced RF test and rework facilities has always been a challenge, particularly for smaller organisations, where the cost of test and validation to ECSS standards, can be prohibitive,” explained Ben Kieniewicz, Founder and CEO of EECL. “By making our labs space available on demand, we’re removing this barrier to entry, giving RF engineers access enterprise-grade facilities without the Capex investment.”

EECL is one of the few RF companies in the UK with proven experience in V-band, a key frequency range for next-generation space and satellite communications. Supporting applications such as high-throughput data links and inter-satellite communications, V-band supports significantly higher data rates and performance, with system implementation requiring precise control of signal integrity, tolerances and manufacturing processes, areas where EECL’s engineering team excels. 

EECL has also recently achieved ISO 9001 accreditation, underpinning its quality management processes and enabling its involvement in high-reliability space and communications programmes. With this accreditation and recent investment, the company is positioning itself to support a wider range of customers across the space, satellite and advanced electronics sectors, where access to compliant test environments and specialist RF expertise is critical to programme success.