CATL successfully test-flew a 4-ton aircraft!

Original Erdong Veken lithium battery 2024-05-24 18:26 Guangdong

CATL, a battery company, is planning to build electric airplanes.

On May 22, at the BEYOND International Science and Technology Innovation Expo held in Macau, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, said that in the field of electric aircraft, CATL is conducting cooperative development. "We need to start with small aircraft, from 1-ton aircraft to 8.8-ton aircraft. We are currently testing 4-ton aircraft. "

Zeng Yuqun further pointed out that "to achieve commercial use, an aircraft of more than 8 tons is needed, so we still need to continue to work hard to promote it, and it is expected to be launched in 2027 or 2028."

Picture: Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL

Low-altitude economy is a trillion-dollar market

Since the second half of 2023, the low-altitude economy has entered a period of intensive policy catalysis. The 2023 Central Economic Work Conference has listed the low-altitude economy as one of the strategic emerging industries.
The 2024 "Government Work Report" also mentioned that it will actively create new growth engines such as biomanufacturing, commercial aerospace, and low-altitude economy. The industry believes that the low-altitude economy was written into the "Government Work Report" for the first time, marking that the development of the low-altitude economy has risen to the national level.
Intensive policy support has accelerated the transformation of technologies related to the low-altitude economy. The EH216-S unmanned manned aircraft system production license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to Ehang Intelligent is considered to mark the official entry of China's eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) industry chain into the mass production stage. The
logistics industry has also ushered in a new track for the low-altitude economy. The "drone delivery" scene has become a reality in many cities.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and other four departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Innovation and Application of General Aviation Equipment (2024-2030)", which proposed that by 2030, general aviation equipment will be fully integrated into all areas of people's production and life, becoming a powerful driving force for low-altitude economic growth and forming a trillion-level market scale.

CATL's Aircraft Dream

CATL has made great progress in the field of aircraft batteries: at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023, CATL released its most cutting-edge battery technology-condensed matter batteries.
The first application field of this battery technology has jumped out of the automotive circle and will be used in the aviation field. CATL also stated that it is already co-developing civil electric manned aircraft projects, implementing aviation-grade standards and tests, and meeting aviation-grade safety and quality requirements.
Of course, power batteries that can meet the needs of the aviation field are naturally applied to new energy vehicles.
It is understood that the energy density of CATL's condensed matter battery has been increased to 500Wh/kg, which not only means that it has doubled the current level of 250Wh/kg in the field of electric vehicle power batteries, but also means that it meets the energy density requirements of regional aircraft. For aviation uses with a range of 600-1200km, electrification becomes possible.
On July 19, 2023, COMAC (Shanghai) Aviation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as COMAC), jointly held by CATL, COMAC and Shanghai Jiaotong University, was officially established. The company's business scope includes the design and production of civil aircraft parts, the production of civil aircraft (engines, propellers), and battery sales.
The establishment of COMAC means that CATL has entered the field of aircraft manufacturing.
Now, through Zeng Yuqun's speech, it can be known that CATL has tested a 4-ton electric aircraft .
What is the concept of 4 tons? It is understood that Xiaopeng Huitian's fifth-generation product, the Traveler X2 flying car, weighs 560 kilograms with batteries, can carry 2 passengers, and has a load capacity of 200 kilograms. That is, the product is less than 1 ton after loading. The
civil helicopter AC310 independently developed by AVIC has an empty weight of 505 kilograms, a payload of 425 kilograms, and a maximum take-off weight of 930 kilograms. This product is also less than 1 ton.
The AW139 helicopter is 16.67 meters long, 4.98 meters high, and has a main rotor diameter of 13.8 meters. It has an empty weight of 4.9 tons and a maximum take-off weight of 7 tons.
The Mi-12 transport helicopter developed by the Soviet Union has a maximum take-off weight of 5.6 tons and a belly load capacity of 2.5 tons.
The commercial electric aircraft formulated by CATL is initially planned to support more than 8 tons, and the launch schedule is 2027-2028!
Zeng Yuqun pointed out, "We have invested 10 billion US dollars (currently about 72.4 billion yuan) in 10 years, and we invested 2.5 billion US dollars (currently about 18.1 billion yuan) in research and development last year. "

Many battery companies enter the market

Based on the trillion-level market prospect of the low-altitude economy in the future, Weico.com Lithium Battery noticed that in addition to CATL, a number of power battery companies have also been laying out corresponding battery products.
Zhongxin Aviation entered the market very early, and it is deeply bound with Xiaopeng Motors. The cutting-edge 9-series high-nickel/silicon system battery developed for low-altitude travel has achieved a leapfrog improvement in lightweight and safety performance while ensuring high power and high fast charging capabilities. In
May 2023, the new products released by Zhengli New Energy included the Zhengli Aviation Battery. The battery has an energy density of 320Wh/kg, which can meet the high-rate discharge performance of 12C at 20% SOC; in terms of fast charging, it can be charged to 80% in 15 minutes; in terms of safety, it has achieved ppb-level aviation safety standards. In
November 2023, Desay Battery obtained the AS9100D aerospace quality management system certification certificate, covering the "manufacturing of rechargeable batteries". At
the end of 2023, Guoxuan High-tech and Ehang Intelligent established a cooperation to jointly develop power cell solutions for eVTOL products.
Juwan Technology Research has also reached a strategic cooperation with Ehang Intelligent to jointly develop the world's first ultra-fast charging/extreme charging battery solution for eVTOL aircraft, and to carry out the joint construction of infrastructure such as supercharging piles and supercharging stations. It is understood that the ultra-fast charging battery for low-altitude aircraft currently developed by Juwan Technology Research uses ternary high-performance materials. The system energy density is 25% higher than that of ordinary aircraft batteries, the cycle life is more than 2,000 times, and charging 30%-80% only takes 5 to 10 minutes, while being able to meet aviation-grade standards. In
April 2024, EVE Energy stated at the first quarter performance briefing that the company had an early layout in the field of eVTOL batteries and had cooperated with a foreign company for three years of research. It has now delivered sample A products and is assisting customers in obtaining certification for relevant aviation systems. In addition, the company has also sent samples to other international customers. On
May 9, Farasis Energy stated at the performance briefing that the company has obtained a designated point from Shanghai Shi Technology Co., Ltd. in the field of manned flight, and has cooperated in depth with overseas leading companies in the eVTOL market and delivered products.
On May 16, Xinwangda stated in an investor interaction platform that "the company's batteries can be used in flying cars, and the company has the ability to develop and produce flying car batteries."