3.5 trillion! EVE Energy has delivered eVTOL battery sample A

Original CiCi Week Veken lithium battery 2024-05-30 18:17 Guangdong

On May 29, Yiwei Lithium Energy (300014) responded to questions on the interactive platform and said 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.

EVE Energy also emphasized that the product development model of overseas eVTOL manufacturers is generally to continue cooperation and grow together after identifying a solution.

The low-altitude economic market is heating up

The so-called low-altitude economy is a comprehensive economic form that is driven by various low-altitude flight activities of various manned and unmanned aircraft, radiating and driving the integrated development of related fields. It plays an increasingly important role in promoting economic development, strengthening social security, and serving national defense.
Therefore, at the end of 2023, the Central Economic Work Conference listed the low-altitude economy as one of the strategic emerging industries.
Entering 2024, the low-altitude economy has entered a period of intensive policy catalysis. More than 20 cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hainan, Beijing, Nanjing, and Suzhou have issued targeted support policies in the field of eVTOL, competing to build low-altitude economic demonstration zones. Moreover, at this year's National People's Congress, "low-altitude economy" was written into the government work report for the first time and was included in the category of new quality productivity.
At present, the main products in the low-altitude field include the highly-watched eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, also known as "flying cars"), drones, helicopters, traditional fixed-wing aircraft, etc. According to data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the market size of China's low-altitude economy is expected to reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
With the strong guidance and support of policies, the transformation of low-altitude economy-related technologies and products has accelerated, especially the eVTOL market has accelerated. In the first quarter of this year, Fengfei Aviation's eVTOL "Shengshilong" successfully completed the first demonstration flight of the world's first cross-sea and cross-city eVTOL route; Penghuitian Flying Car "Traveler X2" successfully completed low-altitude flight in urban areas; Ehang Intelligent's "air taxi" EH216-S was listed on Taobao Industrial Products...

The battle for aircraft batteries begins

The battery is one of the core components of an aircraft, and its performance directly determines the range, stability, safety and operational efficiency of the aircraft.
The latest research report of Everbright Securities pointed out that benefiting from the strong supply chain and large-scale cost reduction of power and energy storage batteries, most eVTOL models use mature lithium batteries with high power density. Energy density, charge and discharge performance, safety, and thermal management performance are the core, and the 1-2 year battery replacement cycle may drive the growth of lithium battery demand. At present, eVTOL batteries are still mainly liquid and semi-solid that can be mass-produced, and new technologies such as solid-state batteries, pre-lithiation, and silicon negative electrodes are expected to accelerate.
Based on the trillion-level market prospects of the low-altitude economy in the future and the high-performance requirements for power batteries, companies such as CATL, China New Aviation, EVE Energy, Guoxuan High-tech, Xinwanda, Farasis Energy, Juwan Technology Research, Lishen Battery, and Zhengli New Energy Technology have all deployed related product research and development, and are the first to occupy the aircraft battery track. CATL will launch the
first condensed state battery at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023, which is a type of solid-state battery with a single cell energy density of 500Wh/kg. Previously, CATL has been co-developing civil electric manned aircraft projects and has established a joint venture with COMAC.
The latest news is that CATL has tested a 4-ton electric aircraft, and commercial aircraft weighing more than 8 tons are expected to be launched in 2027 and 2028.
China New Aviation and Xiaopeng Motors are deeply bound together. 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. Guoxuan
High-tech reached a cooperation with Ehang Intelligent at the end of 2023 to jointly develop customized power battery solutions for Ehang Intelligent's eVTOL products. On
May 16,
Xinwangda said on its interactive 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. Farasis Energy has obtained a designated position from Shanghai Shi Technology Co., Ltd. in the field of manned flight, and has cooperated deeply with overseas leading companies in the eVTOL market and delivered products.
Juwan Technology Research released the ultra-fast/ultra-fast charging battery system for eVTOL aircraft on April 27 and reached a strategic cooperation with Ehang Intelligent. The battery uses ternary high-performance materials, and the system energy density is 25% higher than that of ordinary aircraft batteries. The cycle life is more than 2,000 times, and it only takes 5 to 10 minutes to charge 30%-80%, while meeting aviation-grade standards.
In January,
Lishen Battery completed the development of a new generation of ultra-lightweight and high-safety semi-solid-state batteries with an energy density of 402Wh/kg, which will be widely used in ultra-long-range passenger cars, eVTOL and other fields. Zhengli New Energy released the Zhengli Aviation Battery in May 2023. The battery has an energy density of 320Wh/kg, which can meet the high-rate discharge performance of 12C at 20% SOC; it can be charged to 80% in 15 minutes, achieving ppb-level aviation safety standards.

Summarize

Judging from the battery companies that have been deployed above, lithium batteries and semi-solid batteries are both available, but most companies choose lithium batteries. It can be seen that battery cost and whether it can be mass-produced are the core considerations for battery companies and eVTOL companies.
The latest research report of Everbright Securities pointed out that the cost of eVTOL power and propulsion systems accounts for 50%, the fuselage structure, avionics and flight control systems account for 20%-25% respectively; infrastructure, personnel training, etc. account for the main part of fixed costs, and also include variable costs such as maintenance, depreciation, and battery replacement. In the early stage of eVTOL industrialization, it is necessary to rely on scale to reduce costs quickly, but it is necessary to reduce costs by more than 90% to achieve the economy of ground transportation.
Although there are difficult problems such as cost, the global eVTOL industry is booming. On the one hand, eVTOL start-ups are hot in financing . In March and April of this year, two eVTOL companies, Shi Technology and Volante, received financing again; Xiaopenghui plans to start its B round of financing in 2024, and is currently negotiating with interested parties.
On the other hand, eVTOL companies are actively advancing various certification applications. It is reported that Ehang Intelligent has obtained the aircraft type certificate (TC), production certificate (PC) and standard airworthiness certificate (AC) certification; the eVTOL representative models of Geely Wofei Changkong, Xiaopeng Huitian, Shi Technology, Volante, Yufeng Future, Fengfei Aviation, GAC Group and other companies have completed test flights, and some companies have also submitted TC applications.
In the long run, eVTOL is expected to become the main type of aircraft for urban air traffic and is ushering in an unprecedented development opportunity. Everbright Securities said that the business model of eVTOL is mainly ToG and ToB, and the models will be intensively put into use in 24-26 years, and the industry will shift from research and development to large-scale commercial operation.