"Air mobility expands urban transportation from a two-dimensional world to a three-dimensional world, and will break the city's old perception of transportation technology, rules and services." Shenzhen Urban Transportation Planning and Design Research Center Co., Ltd. (301091. SZ, hereinafter referred to as "Shenzhen City Exchange") deputy general manager Li Xi told the Economic Observer.
Founded in 1996, Shenzhen Urban Communications Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in the overall solution of the integrated urban transportation system of air-space-ground-sea-sea tunnel, providing consulting and planning, investment and construction services for transportation, urban governance and cross-domain integration. Since the development of the low-altitude economy in Shenzhen, SZCC has carried out a number of projects for the municipal and district-level government departments, including low-altitude economic planning, policy formulation, industrial research, platform research and development, and facility delivery. At the same time, the company has also helped Nanjing, Hefei, Chengdu and other cities to promote low-altitude economic work.
Shenzhen's low-altitude economic development is at the forefront of the country. In the first half of 2024, Shenzhen completed 255,000 cargo drone flights, much higher than the same period figures for Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. Shenzhen has built 249 low-altitude take-off and landing points, and plans to increase this number to more than 1,000 by the end of 2025, with a detailed mission book, roadmap and timetable.
In August 2024, Li Xi participated in the formulation of the "High-quality Construction Plan for Shenzhen Low-altitude Take-off and Landing Facilities (2024-2025)" on behalf of Shenzhen Chengjiao. He and his team found that Shenzhen's long-distance travel demand and the demand of high-net-worth individuals may drive 20,000-40,000 low-altitude flights per day, but this vision has yet to be implemented due to factors such as flight costs. Li Xi and his team have planned a three-level low-altitude transportation hub for Shenzhen, and have selected a number of urban parks, scenic spots, bus stations, bus stations and other spaces. He advocated promoting transportation construction at the city level, systematically exploring, clarifying the commercial operation model, and building an air transportation network in a more economical way.
Economic Observer: From the perspective of the construction side, what are the differences between air traffic and ground transportation?
Li Xi: From a technical point of view, there are three differences. First, in 3D, the digital twin of the city is very important, especially considering that unmanned low-altitude aircraft, whether used for logistics or manning, require accurate 3D modeling and obstacle avoidance technology.
Second, in ground transportation, there is currently no need for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-road communication. But for air traffic, there must be a systematic air traffic management system.
Third, in the case of ground transportation, travel safety is not strongly dependent on meteorological data. But air traffic is a separate system, especially in low-altitude meteorological conditions. Therefore, it is very important to monitor meteorological data covering a range from 10 meters above the ground to 1000 meters in the air.
The Economic Observer: What are the potential needs for air mobility in Shenzhen?
Li Xi: We examined the city's ground transportation data and found that about 15% of Shenzhen's taxis and ride-hailing services are over 20 kilometers long-distance travel. At the same time, considering that the proportion of high-net-worth individuals in Shenzhen is about 5%-10%, we analyze that this group is more likely to choose air transportation services to improve travel efficiency. As a result, it is predicted that the potential demand for low-altitude flights in Shenzhen in the future may reach 20,000-40,000 flights per day. However, this demand is constrained by the current cost of flight.
The Economic Observer: What is the current cost of low-altitude flight?
Li Xi: At present, the most commonly used tool for low-altitude flight is helicopters. Taking a standard 7-seater helicopter as an example, the flight cost includes fuel costs, helicopter procurement costs, and the salaries of pilots and operators, and we convert the actual operating cost to about 20,000 yuan per hour. In the case of full helicopter capacity, the cost of sharing the ride to each person is about 3,300 yuan - 4,000 yuan. According to the standards of public travel services, we believe that this cost is too high, and the cost of flying should be reduced to less than 100 yuan, which is equivalent to 2-3 times the price of a taxi or online car-hailing.
Economic Observer: Are there any ways to reduce costs in the industry?
Li Xi: From the perspective of flight costs, there is currently limited room for helicopters to reduce costs. Therefore, we try to form a set of replicable, promotable and profitable commercial operation models from multiple scenarios such as "low-altitude + cultural tourism" and "low-altitude + commercial", which is a key point in reducing the cost of air traffic at present.
Of course, from the analysis of direct reduction of flight costs, one way is to replace helicopters with fixed-wing aircraft. The fuel consumption of fixed-wing aircraft is much lower than that of helicopters and is more suitable for long-distance flights, but this kind of aircraft cannot take off and land vertically, and has higher requirements for ground facilities.
One of the more popular options is electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL). Compared with the first two, this aircraft is greener, easier to take off, and less expensive, and is regarded by all parties as the best carrier of urban air mobility. However, the disadvantage is that the technology of this aircraft is not yet mature, and most of the products are still in the process of airworthiness certification and have not obtained a commercial operation license.
Economic Observer: What is the scenario in which Shenzhen has formed a closed commercial loop?
Li Xi: First, medium and long-distance aircraft transportation, such as cross-sea, cross-bay and cross-city expedited mail transported by Fengyi Technology, as well as air express transportation in the same city; second, for the transportation of medical rescue, the goods transported are blood, emergency medicines, etc.; Third, aircraft inspection for urban governance. We will do some research work on drone technology for the latter two scenarios.
The Economic Observer: In terms of air mobility, how do we propose the planning and construction of Shenzhen?
Li Xi: The core point of air traffic is first of all to build a hub, and we will divide the transportation hub into three levels and build them in batches. There are 21 first-level hubs planned to build the main framework of the entire air traffic, give priority to the layout of existing transportation facilities, and build a number of necessary communication, navigation, surveillance, meteorological and other facilities. We have selected a number of bus stations, bus stations and other spaces, which have vast space and superior locations, and have the airspace conditions, site conditions, and commercial conditions to build an integrated urban air mobility hub.
More than 80 secondary hub points are planned, distributed in key industrial parks and commercial areas at the district level. The third-level hub has not yet been finally selected, and we plan to make it distributed in tourist gathering places, mainly parks and scenic spots at the municipal and district levels, to support the sightseeing scene of low-altitude aircraft.
Economic Observer: The "Shenzhen High-quality Construction Plan for Low-altitude Take-off and Landing Facilities (2024-2025)" mentions the goal of building 1,000 take-off and landing points by 2025.
Li Xi: Yes. In fact, we were commissioned by the government as a technical unit to plan and prepare a plan, and proposed to the relevant departments to plan 1,261 take-off and landing points. These take-offs and landings vary widely in terms of investment cost and size. A larger first-level hub covers a variety of types of helicopters and UAVs, which need to have the function of charging and refueling, a site contains about 4 take-off and landing positions and 1 waiting hall, the construction area of this site is 10,000 square meters, and the investment scale is tens of millions of yuan; Smaller, single aircraft can cost tens of thousands of dollars at the take-off and landing points, and they can find their place in the rooftop space of commercial and residential buildings.
In the process of planning and site selection, in addition to considering the attributes of the land, it is also necessary to conduct an actual survey of the surrounding building environment, airspace conditions, synaesthesia conditions, meteorological conditions, etc. Take-off and landing points require a certain amount of open space to ensure safe operations. In densely populated areas, such as residential complexes, it is necessary to find relatively open locations, such as open spaces in the center of the community.
Economic Observer: To what extent are these take-off and landing points currently under construction?
Li Xi: The current construction is still advancing, and there are certain challenges in the process. The investment system, construction system, implementation path and commercial operation and maintenance of the low-altitude economy are still in the exploration stage, and the investment subjects include municipal and district-level urban investment companies or production investment companies, as well as third-party enterprises, about dozens. The main body of construction is usually selected by the main body of investment, and there are many houses. The operating entity is basically operated and maintained by the investor or a third-party operating company. At present, Shenzhen has set up a special company to coordinate and lead this work, and Shenzhen Chengjiao is also comprehensively laying out the "strategy-investment-construction-transportation" business of low-altitude infrastructure.
Economic Observer: Have these low-altitude economic stakeholders come to consult?
Li Xi: The consultations we received were mainly from local governments and leaders of relevant departments, who led a team to learn about Shenzhen's low-altitude economic development model, and understand the role of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Transportation Bureau, and the Industry and Information Technology Bureau in Shenzhen's low-altitude economic development work. Urban investment companies, operators and civil aviation companies in various places, and even enterprises originally engaged in the military drone business, have also expressed their willingness to participate in the low-altitude economy to us, hoping to learn from Shenzhen's development experience and combine their respective resource endowments to promote the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy.
Economic Observer: Did SZSE understand their confusion during the consultation?
Li Xi: Government leaders are concerned about how to learn from Shenzhen's experience to develop the local low-altitude economic industry faster and more economically, and build a low-altitude economic flight activity system with certain commercial capabilities, including the construction of low-altitude transportation facilities to support flight activities. The focus of urban investment companies is on how to invest, access to resources, how to close the loop on business models, and how to create new revenue streams through the low-altitude economy. As technology providers, operators and tower companies pay attention to technical issues such as low-altitude flight network construction and synaesthesia integration, and hope to participate in the integration projects of low-altitude construction in various places. Traditional infrastructure companies such as China Communications Construction and China State Construction Group are also looking for new growth points in the low-altitude field.
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