A Christchurch company building solar-powered aircraft has marked a major milestone by opening a new manufacturing and operations hub in the city.

Kea Aerospace said the 3000 square-metre facility has been customised to help develop the company's solar powered aircraft, the Kea Atmos Mk2.

The aircraft has a 35-metre wingspan, and is designed to operate at altitudes over 60,000 feet (18,288m), over a third higher than typical international airline flights.

Kea Aerospace chief executive Mark Rocket said it was a "step-change moment" for Kea.

"We've spent the last three or so years working on the Mk1 programme, which has been very successful," he told RNZ.

"This facility allows us to build the Mk2, which is a much larger aircraft."

A key feature of the new centre was a dedicated mission control centre, which Kea said would allow its team to remotely operate and monitor flight tests in real time.

It would bring together command, control, and live data analysis in one place.

Rocket said the Mk1 was a day tripper, flying into the stratosphere at dawn and returning at dusk.

But the Mk2 would be able to stay in the stratosphere "for weeks or months continuously," with a bigger battery pack and payload capacity, he said.

"Our initial focus will be to operate it over maritime domains and use it for earth observation looking for illegal fishing, drug smuggling, foreign vessels, and just getting a better picture of what's going on in the airspace around New Zealand, Australia and other countries."

Rocket said the initial focus would be to work with the New Zealand government and the country's Defence Force.

When the aircraft begins to fly over land, he said it could be used for environmental monitoring, disaster response and precision agriculture.

An aerospace hub for Christchurch

Kea Aerospace said in addition to supporting its own growth, the facility was designed to support the broader industry.

The company has set aside a portion of the site for the next two years to host other aerospace companies, which it said would lay the groundwork for the city's first dedicated aerospace hub.

"We're not just building aircraft - we're building capability," Rocket said.

"By opening part of this facility to other aerospace companies, we're creating a launchpad for the wider industry."

The head of Christchurch's economic development agency, ChristchurchNZ, said the new facility demonstrated the vision to develop aerospace as one of the city's key growth sectors.

"Aerospace is one of Canterbury's most exciting high-growth sectors, and facilities like this help create the capability, connections and scale needed to support future investment, innovation and job creation," chief executive Ali Adams said.