"Star Daily" reported on August 5th (by reporter Li Mingming) that Contemporary Amperex Technology has entered into the new low-altitude economy field through strategic investment in eVTOL unicorns!

Recently, Fengfei Airlines announced that it has signed a strategic investment and cooperation agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology, with Contemporary Amperex Technology becoming the strategic investor of Fengfei Airlines with an exclusive investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Fengfei Airlines stated that it will work with Contemporary Amperex Technology for a long time and jointly strive to develop eVTOL aviation batteries. The two parties will combine their respective resources and technical advantages, focus on improving the energy density and performance of eVTOL batteries, support longer flight distances and higher payloads of eVTOL, and also achieve significant improvements in safety and stability.

"Star Daily" reporter learned that nowadays the demand for large-scale eVTOL operations and airworthiness safety regulations for aircraft have put extremely harsh requirements on the new generation of batteries, which is also an opportunity for power battery companies to expand their development paths. This investment is a key move for Contemporary Amperex Technology to actively lay out the trillion-level new low-altitude economic field.

In addition to investing in top companies in the low-altitude economic field, Contemporary Amperex Technology is also investing in independent research and development. On June 25th of this year, the chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology, Zeng Yuqun, revealed that the company is actively investing in and accelerating the research and development of an 8-tonne aircraft, which is expected to be launched between 2027 and 2028.

Why Fengfei Airlines?

Fengfei Airlines was established in Shanghai in 2017. Founder Tian Yu holds FAA fixed-wing and helicopter pilot licenses and entered the electric aviation industry as early as 1999. It is also one of the earliest domestic companies to invest in the eVTOL electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft race. The company has completed the layout of multiple products in the field of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, mainly including large-scale logistics aircraft and autonomous manned aircraft.

According to the company's official website, Fengfei Aviation Technology's aircraft uses a composite wing structure, can take off and land vertically like a helicopter, and can also cruise at high speeds like a fixed-wing aircraft. The company is also one of the very few technology companies worldwide that masters the technology of eVTOL "transforming flight" above a ton.

Among them, the main product 'Shengshilong' is an eVTOL electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft independently developed by Fengfei, also known as an 'air taxi.' With a maximum takeoff weight of 2 tons and a design for 5 passengers, it set a global range record of 250.3 kilometers for a single charge of 2-tonne eVTOL in 2023 and completed the world's first three-machine formation flight for eVTOLs above a ton.

At present, the main products in the low-altitude field include eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft), drones (consumer-grade, industrial-grade), helicopters, and traditional fixed-wing aircraft.

Compared with traditional helicopters, manned eVTOLs are purely electrically driven, have low noise, high cost-effectiveness, and are more environmentally friendly. They mainly target short-haul flight needs within and between cities and are increasingly popular with global car companies, aviation companies, and technology companies.

Why did Contemporary Amperex Technology team up with Fengfei Airlines? A high-level executive of a low-altitude economic start-up told reporters from "Star Daily" that battery technology is the core of the development of eVTOL aircraft, which directly affects the endurance and operational efficiency of aircraft, including new-generation batteries, fast-charging technology, battery thermal management systems, etc. Long-distance manned flight is required, and the energy density of eVTOL aviation batteries currently urgently needs to be further breakthrough. The fact that Contemporary Amperex Technology, a globally significant enterprise in the battery industry, invested in the eVTOL head company Fengfei Airlines indicates its recognition of Fengfei Airlines' competitiveness and long-term development potential, and the two parties may have more cooperation in the field of battery development.

Since its establishment, Fengfei Airlines has gone through two rounds of financing. In September 2021, the company completed a US$0.1 billion series A financing, the largest single financing obtained by domestic eVTOL companies at the time, which was invested by international aviation capital.

Domestic companies committed to the eVTOL field also include Xpeng Heitech, Woovapex, Pantonic Aviation, and Times Technology.

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) entering a new low-altitude aviation economy track.

According to relevant predictions, the global eVTOL market will reach $61.9 billion by 2026; and will exceed one trillion dollars by 2040. The takeoff of eVTOL also provides new development space for power batteries, which are the core components.

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has been active in the field of aviation electrification since last year.

In April last year, the company launched a solid-state battery, whose single-cell energy density can reach up to 500Wh/kg, which is about twice as high as the mainstream electric vehicle battery currently. It can meet the energy density requirements of regional passenger planes and makes electrification possible for aviation with a range of 600-1200km. Electric passenger aircraft and eVTOL have become the main application areas of solid-state batteries.

In July last year, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) also established COMAC-Time (Shanghai) Aviation Co., Ltd. with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, and Shanghai Jiaotong University Enterprise Development Group Co., Ltd. The company's business scope includes licensed projects: civil aircraft maintenance, civil aircraft parts design and production, civil aircraft (engines, propellers) production, battery sales, etc.

Wu Kai, chief scientist of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), revealed that CATL's solid-state batteries are undergoing cooperation and development of civilian electric passenger aircraft projects. In April of this year, Wu Kai disclosed the latest progress in the above research and development cooperation, saying that with CATL's solid-state batteries, the verification aircraft weighing more than one ton has already made its first flight successfully.

At the 15th New Leader Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum on June 25 this year, Zeng Yuqun said that the company has successfully test-flown a 4-ton civilian electric aircraft, and is accelerating the development of 8-ton aircraft. The 8-ton aircraft is expected to be released from 2027 to 2028 and can support a range of about 2000 to 3000 kilometers.

Public information shows that Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) has publicly invested in 124 events, many of which are concentrated in the new energy and new materials, new energy vehicles and other fields, and this investment in FENGFEI Aviation is the first time.

In recent years, the low-altitude economy track has become a new round of competition for power battery companies. In addition to Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), many power battery companies such as EVE Energy, Farasis Energy, Gotion High-Tech, and Jiuwan Research have already entered the research and development and production of eVTOL batteries.

On April 26 this year, EVE Energy stated that the company had a relatively early layout in the eVTOL battery field. After cooperating with a foreign company for three years of research and development work, the company has delivered sample products and is currently assisting customers to obtain relevant aviation system certification. In addition, the company has also sent samples to other international customers.

Last month, Zhang Feng, the secretary of the board of directors of Farasis Energy, stated that Farasis Energy completed the key technology development of eVTOL power batteries in 2017. By 2023, the first-generation of electric flying vehicles equipped with Farasis Energy's solid-state batteries has been delivered to end customers, which is the first commercial delivery in the world. At present, Farasis Energy's eVTOL power battery business is beginning to bear fruit and has contributed to part of its revenue according to the 2023 annual report of Farasis Energy.

At the end of 2023, Gotion High-Tech announced that it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with EHang Intelligent Technology, and will jointly develop power cells, battery packs, energy storage systems, and charging infrastructure based on EHang Intelligent Technology's unmanned eVTOL products.

Jiuwan Research, a battery and ultra-fast charging technology research and production company, reached a strategic cooperation agreement with EHang Intelligent Technology on April 28 this year. The two sides will jointly develop the world's first ultra-fast/rapid charging battery solution for EHang's electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.