Innovation takes flight in boost to low-altitude biz

As China's low-altitude economy transitions from blueprint to benchmark, companies in the sector are poised to ride a new wave of industrial growth.

Although it may still take time for low-altitude applications to become widespread, stakeholders across the industry are making steady progress, from the rollout of supportive policies and the rapid development of the domestic supply chain to continued advances in research and development. These efforts have laid a solid foundation for the sector's projected expansion, experts said.

"The prosperity of the low-altitude economy must ultimately rest on proven commercial viability, which means delivering comfortable, safe and cost-effective travel experiences for passengers, sustainable returns for operators, and development opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers," said Dong Ming, founder and CEO of Shanghai-based Volant Aerotech during an interview in June.

Using the VE25-100, Volant Aerotech completed China's first piloted transition flight of a commercial passenger electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOL, in Sichuan province's Zigong on May 28.

Regarded as one of the key tasks in the commercialization of passenger eVTOL, the achievement made the company the third in the world to complete such a flight task, said Dong.

The success of the piloted transition flight will greatly accelerate the efficiency of future test flights and further accelerate the aircraft model's development, he added.

Dong believes that the gradual commercialization of the sector will depend on the establishment of a complete and sustainable industrial value chain. At present, the key challenge facing the industry is how to achieve commercial viability through developing such an ecosystem.

"Over the next three to five years, we expect the company to achieve a revenue of 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) and a market valuation of 100 billion yuan," Dong said.

Dong's forecast is underpinned by the promising outlook for China's low-altitude economy in the coming years.

"The low-altitude economy has been officially elevated to the status of an emerging pillar industry alongside aerospace during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period," said Luo Jun, a low-altitude economy expert.

The public maiden flight of a consumer-grade wing-in-ground craft on June 4 in Suzhou of Jiangsu province marked another effort to explore the low-altitude market with an estimated trillion-dollar scale worldwide in coming years.

Claimed to be the first of its kind globally, the WaveFly 5X cruises at a height of between 50 and 60 centimeters above the water and has a top speed of around 85 kilometers per hour, according to Wang Yaozhang, chief product officer of the Suzhou-based smart mobility company Navee.

"It is projected to roll off the production line by the end of this year, and we expect to produce about 100 aircraft this year. Annual production capacity will be 2,000 units from 2027, and our future capacity will be determined by market demand," Wang said. "The waterborne aircraft will first target high-end overseas markets and will then be gradually introduced to other regions of the world."

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has forecast the country's low-altitude economy market to reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. The sector has become a key driver in the nation's development of new quality productive forces, as well as in the cultivation of emerging industries with a trillion-yuan scale.