Image source: figure worm

With the popularity of the concept of "low-altitude economy", the power source of lithium batteries as its carrier has also ushered in new development opportunities.

in the secondary market, on April 9, the low-altitude economic sector rebounded, avic heavy machinery (600765.SH) rose by more than 5%, zongshen power (001696.SZ) and light intelligence technology (300489.SZ) rose by more than 5%, and the market as a whole showed a recovery. The lithium battery industry chain strengthened across the board. By the end of the day, Tianci Materials (002709.SZ) and Shenghua New Materials (603026, when Sheng Technology (300073.SZ), Rongbai Technology (688005.SH), Penghui Energy (300438.SZ), etc. rose more than 10%.

Image source: Wind

Just two days ago, on April 7, EAC Intelligence (NASDAQ: EH) announced that it had obtained the EH216-S Unmanned Manned Aircraft System Production License issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. This is the first production license for the global eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) industry, marking the entry of EAC's intelligent EH216-S into the production phase.

A new energy source?

It is reported that low-altitude economy is an emerging concept, which mainly refers to all economic activities based on low-altitude airspace and dominated by the general aviation industry, involving low-altitude flights, air tourism, regional passenger transport, general aviation services, scientific research and education, etc. Industry. Low-altitude economy related products mainly include drones, eVTOL, helicopters, traditional fixed-wing aircraft, etc., involving two major scenarios of residential consumption and industrial applications.

on March 27, the Ministry of industry and information technology, the Ministry of science and technology, the Ministry of finance and the Civil Aviation Administration of China jointly issued the implementation plan for innovative application of general aviation equipment (2024-2030), which requires that by 2027, aviation emergency rescue and logistics distribution will be applied on a large scale, and urban air traffic will be operated commercially. By 2030, general aviation equipment will be fully integrated into all areas of people's production and life, forming a trillion-level market scale.

"The low-altitude economy requires a large number of low-altitude aircraft, and these aircraft require a large number of lithium batteries as a power source. This will drive a significant increase in the demand for lithium batteries, thereby promoting the development of the lithium industry." On April 9, Zhang Xiaorong, director of the Deep Science and Technology Research Institute, told time Weekly that the low-altitude economy is closely related to lithium batteries, which also means that the lithium industry is facing great opportunities and challenges.

At the same time, Zhang Xiaorong further said that at present, the carriers of low-altitude economy are mainly drones and air cars, and these new vehicles have very high requirements for lithium batteries. Compared with traditional power batteries, they have higher requirements in terms of energy density, safety, and environmental adaptability. At present, the performance of lithium batteries on the market cannot meet the actual needs of low-altitude flight.

For lithium battery companies, the layout of low-altitude economic areas is not only to capture opportunities in this emerging market, but also to further consolidate and enhance their market position.

Times Weekly learned that at present, many leading lithium battery enterprises including Ningde Times (300750.SZ), Yiwei Lithium Energy (300014.SZ), Guoxuan Hi-Tech (002074.SZ) and Funeng Technology (688567.SH) have laid out the "low-altitude economy" field.

specifically, on April 3, Ningde times said on the interactive platform that the company's condensed matter battery energy density can reach up to 500Wh/kg, and is carrying out the cooperative development of civil electric manned aircraft project, implementing aviation-level standards and tests to meet aviation-level safety and quality requirements, and will also launch a vehicle-level application version of condensed matter battery.

on April 3, blue lithium core (002245.SZ) said in an investor relations activity, "for the low-altitude economy, we have paid attention to the layout of overseas peers in eVTOL (vertical lift aircraft) in 2022, and now there are also products under research and development, which is mainly the company's layout for the future."

On April 2, Yiwei Lithium Energy stated on the interactive platform that the company already has the layout and application of related battery products in low-altitude fields such as flying cars and drones.

At the end of 2023, Guoxuan Gaoke and Yihang Intelligence reached a strategic cooperation, and the two sides jointly developed a power battery solution for Yihang Intelligent Unmanned eVTOL products.

On April 9, angel investor and senior artificial intelligence expert Guo Tao told Time Weekly: "With the development of driverless technology, the demand for high-performance, high-safety lithium batteries will increase significantly. If this market (low-altitude economy) can achieve the expected growth, it may become the second outlet after new energy vehicles."

The company has obtained a certificate of airworthiness

"The barriers to entry in the low-altitude economy are relatively high because of the multiple aspects of aviation safety, technology research and development, and market regulation. Companies need strong technical strength and financial support to enter this market." On April 9, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told time Weekly that at present, although some leading enterprises, such as Yihang Intelligence, have made remarkable progress and achieved mass production of some products, the mass production of the whole industry is still limited by factors such as technological maturity, market demand and policy environment.

In fact, in the field of eVTOL, Yihang Intelligence is currently at the forefront of the industry. Public information shows that Yihang Intelligence was established in 2014 and landed on Nasdaq in 2019. It is the world's first listed urban air transportation company.

in October 2023, yihang intelligent EH216-S unmanned manned aircraft system successfully obtained the type certificate (type Certificate, "TC") issued by the civil aviation administration of China, becoming the first eVTOL aircraft in the world to obtain the airworthiness certificate.

according to the financial report of yihang intelligence, in 2023, yihang intelligence achieved revenue of 0.117 billion yuan, of which, in the fourth quarter, the company achieved revenue of 56.6 million yuan, up 260.9 percent year-on-year and 97.8 percent month-on-month. In 2023, Yihang Intelligent delivered 52 EH216 series and 23 EH216 series in the fourth quarter.

according to the official account of yihang intelligence, on the evening of March 20, the unmanned manned aircraft EH216-S independently developed by yihang intelligence was successfully sold in the "make a friend" Taobao studio, creating a precedent for the world's first unmanned manned aircraft to be sold online on the e-commerce platform. At present, EH216-S has been sold on Taobao for 2.39 million yuan.

Image source: Taobao

according to the opinion of tianfeng securities research paper, if yihang obtains the production license (PC) issued by the civil aviation administration of China to carry out mass production and delivery, and lands its low-altitude tourism business in low-altitude economic demonstration cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hefei, yihang's market recognition may be greatly strengthened, and the number of orders and delivery volume may see a substantial increase.

on April 9, senior civil aviation expert Han Tao told time Weekly that at present, companies such as Yihang Intelligence have made some progress in the field of low-altitude economy, but further technological research and development and policy support are still needed to achieve commercial landing. Nevertheless, the low-altitude economy is still likely to become an emerging industry field and bring new growth opportunities for the lithium industry.