With a trillion-level market scale, the low-altitude economy has sounded a take-off signal

Following the local governments have written the "low-altitude economy" into the government work report, the first top-level design of the "low-altitude economy" has been released, and the future development blueprint has been launched.

On March 27, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other four departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for the Innovative Application of General Aviation Equipment (2024-2030)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). It is clearly pointed out that by 2030, general aviation equipment will be fully integrated into all fields of people's production and life, becoming a powerful driving force for low-altitude economic growth and forming a trillion-level market scale.

The plan mentions that with application scenario innovation and large-scale demonstration application as the traction, accelerate the iterative upgrading of general aviation technology and equipment, build a modern general aviation advanced manufacturing cluster, create a new model of general aviation industry development with Chinese characteristics, and provide strong support for cultivating new growth poles of low-altitude economy.

"The development stage of the mainland's low-altitude economic industry can be roughly divided into the exploration stage, the development stage and the application stage. Han Tao, an expert of the new think tank of civil aviation, said in an interview with the "China Times" reporter that as early as 2009, the industry put forward the concept of "low-altitude economy", which is the exploration stage; in 2010, the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Low-altitude Airspace Management in the Mainland" was released, which opened the prelude to the reform of low-altitude airspace management, and then the "low-altitude economy" entered the development stage; in 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline", and the concept of "low-altitude economy" was written into the national plan for the first time. With the continuous increase in policy support, the continuous innovation of related technologies, and the expansion of low-altitude flight application scenarios, the eVTOL and drone industries are expected to achieve rapid development with the support of favorable policies.

By 2030, a trillion-level market size will be formed

The plan puts forward a total of 20 key tasks in five aspects, namely, enhancing the competitiveness of industrial technology innovation, enhancing the competitiveness of the industrial chain and supply chain, deepening the demonstration and application of key areas, promoting the construction of basic support systems, and building an efficient and integrated industrial ecology.

The plan also clearly pointed out the goal, by 2027, China's general aviation equipment supply capacity, industrial innovation ability significantly improved, the basic support system of modern general aviation was basically established, the efficient integration of industrial ecology was initially formed, the general aviation public service equipment system was basically perfected, and the new general aviation equipment with unmanned, electrified and intelligent technical characteristics was applied commercially in the fields of urban air transportation, logistics and distribution, and emergency rescue.

By 2030, a new model for the development of the general aviation industry characterized by high-end, intelligent and green will be basically established, supporting and guaranteeing the "short-distance transportation + electric vertical take-off and landing" passenger transport network, the "trunk-branch-end" UAV distribution network, and the safe and efficient operation of low-altitude production operations to meet the needs of workers and farmers.

In fact, before the promulgation of the Plan, the relevant policies have been paving the way at an accelerated pace.

In 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other four ministries and commissions proposed the "Green Aviation Manufacturing Industry Development Outline (2023-2035)", proposing to strive to put electric general aviation aircraft into commercial application by 2025, and new energy aircraft to become the mainstream of development by 2035. In particular, there is a mention of pilot operation of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). In December of the same year, the "National Airspace Basic Classification Method" formulated by the National Air Traffic Control Committee was officially released, and the non-controlled areas were divided for the first time. From January 1, 2024, the "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" will be officially implemented, marking that the mainland drone industry will enter a new stage of standardized development with "laws to follow".

"2024 will be the first year of China's low-altitude economic and industrial development, and developing to the sky is another great exploration of mankind after land and sea. How to rationally develop and make full use of existing air resources to realize their huge economic value and social benefits has become the focus of common attention inside and outside the industry. Yang Jincai, President of Shenzhen UAV Association, Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, and Chairman of the World UAV Conference, said.

Which industries will take off?

Wu Gaobin, founder of the UAV Metaverse Acceleration Base, pointed out to the China Times reporter that the rapid development of the low-altitude economy has had a positive impact on many industries and industries. First of all, the general aviation industry is the core industry of the low-altitude economy, including aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, operation and other links, which will directly benefit from the development of the low-altitude economy. In addition, the low-altitude economy is also good for tourism, logistics, medical and other industries, providing new development opportunities for these industries. At present, the mainland's low-altitude economy has some landing applications, such as drone delivery, air tours, aeromedical rescue, etc., which not only enrich the market supply, but also provide consumers with a new consumption experience.

The reporter noted that at present, all provinces and municipalities across the country are actively planning to combine their respective advantages to create a new highland for low-altitude economy in an all-round way. According to incomplete statistics, this year, at least 18 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) including Beijing, Guangdong, Anhui, Sichuan, and Jiangsu will write the "low-altitude economy" into the 2024 government work report.

Since the beginning of this year, a number of low-altitude aircraft test flight projects have also ushered in, and "drones" are flying into thousands of households and becoming an indispensable part of our production and life.

On February 27, the world's first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft cross-sea and cross-city air route (Shenzhen-Zhuhai) successfully completed its first flight, and the original one-way 2.5-3 hour ground drive only takes 20 minutes in the air; on March 8, under the leadership of the Guangzhou Airport Economic Zone Management Committee, Xpeng Huitian Flying Car Voyager X2 took off vertically from the super Grade A office building group of Guangzhou Tiande Plaza, successfully realizing the low-altitude flight in the "Tiande Plaza-Canton Tower" area of the city's CBD; on March 18, EHang "Air Taxi" On Taobao, this is the world's first unmanned manned aircraft to obtain airworthiness certification.

Low-altitude unmanned delivery services have also entered the consumer field early, with Meituan, JD.com, SF Express, DJI, etc. releasing logistics drone products one after another, taking the lead in the layout of this field. Meituan Takeaway has launched "Meituan Drone" delivery services in Shenzhen and Shanghai, and as of the end of December 2023, it has covered 11 regions and opened 25 routes in Shenzhen. At the Meituan drone operation site of Galaxy WORLD in Longhua District, Shenzhen, the reporter saw several drones loaded with takeaway boxes flying over the square, full of science and technology.

Ma Bofan, the on-site manager of the operation site, told the China Times that drones can achieve wider coverage and solve some scenario restrictions. The scenic spot is one of the special scenes. Because of the "ticket" restrictions in the scenic spot, riders cannot enter and exit freely, and drones can solve this problem, deliver takeaway to tourists, give tourists a better service experience, and also broaden the channels for businesses. Shenzhen Window of the World and Splendid China, two 5A-level tourist attractions, have realized drone delivery and takeaway, and established the first drone delivery route for landing scenic spots in China.

"With the continuous improvement of the level of urban intelligence, drones, as an important carrier of low-altitude economy, are playing an increasingly important role. Whether it is agriculture and forestry plant protection, security police, geographic surveying and mapping, or logistics and transportation, emergency rescue, UAVs have shown broad application prospects. According to statistics, the application market in these fields accounts for more than 70% of the market, becoming an important pillar of low-altitude economic development. Yang Jincai pointed out that "logistics and distribution, emergency rescue, and air traffic will be the areas that have made great progress this year." ”

In Han Tao's view, the take-off of the "low-altitude economy" is first of all good for the general aviation industry, the UAV industry, and the low-altitude logistics industry. He said, "With the opening of low-altitude airspace, the demand for general aviation aircraft will grow substantially." This will prompt domestic and foreign aircraft manufacturers to increase research and development efforts and launch more general aviation aircraft with excellent performance, safety and reliability to meet market demand. At the same time, the production of general aviation aircraft will also drive the development of related industrial chains, including aviation materials, avionics, aviation manufacturing and other fields. ”

How to "fly" further?

Wu Gaobin said frankly that the "low-altitude economy" still faces some problems in the development process, such as airspace management system, flight safety, industry standards and other problems.

Han Tao introduced, "different from mature high-altitude flight, low-altitude airspace in the management of the main body, management mode, coordination mechanism and other aspects are lacking, it is recommended to adopt legislation and the introduction of corresponding policies to point out the direction for a series of problems such as coordination, control, standards and supervision that may be encountered in the development of low-altitude economic industry." If the relevant airworthiness standards still need to be further improved, the supervision of the operation side also needs to coordinate and cooperate with local governments. ”

In addition, he also pointed out that the current market development efforts still need to be strengthened. On the basis of promoting institutional innovation, we should start from both ends of supply and demand, focus on industrial expansion and the improvement of product and service quality, and constantly open up the development space of low-altitude economy. For example, we can encourage the development and opening up of low-altitude logistics, general aviation transportation, urban management, public services and other fields according to local conditions, and continuously enrich application scenarios; at the same time, strengthen the guidance of consumption and use, lower the consumption threshold, improve the consumption experience, so that "low-altitude +" can truly integrate into social production and people's lives.

Yang Jincai believes that in the laying of the entire industry, it is necessary to take the government as the leading, and the industry association follows closely, attaching importance to the application scenarios to provide enterprises with the possibility of flying. These around the infrastructure, intelligent networking, low-altitude routes, operation services four aspects at the same time, infrastructure provides the most basic flight premise, it ensures the efficient operation of UAVs, intelligent networking provides front-end and back-end flight timely docking, low-altitude routes so that UAVs can fly accurately and compliantly, operation services to ensure the safe flight of the whole process, do a good job in this regard, in order to do a good job in the low-altitude environment of safe flight to produce safe economic benefits.

He said, "The following aspects can be improved, the first is to improve the planning and design of low-altitude airspace, in order to maximize the use of airspace resources, to meet all kinds of aviation activities, and then improve the efficiency of airspace utilization; Finally, it is necessary to strengthen publicity and implementation, and provide guidance and education for the differentiated flight needs of enterprises and citizens. ”

Editor-in-charge: Xu Yunqian Editor-in-chief: Gong Peijia