36Kr Exclusive | Former Siemens and Rolls-Royce eVTOL Team Launches Aviation Electric Propulsion Startup, Secures Tens of Millions in Two Consecutive Funding Rounds
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Author | Qiao Yujie
Editor | Yuan Silai
Yingke learned that Cape Kinetic Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Cape Kinetic") recently completed a seed round and an angel round of financing in succession. The total amount of the two rounds of financing reached tens of millions of RMB. The investment was led by Lingyi Capital, followed by Xinding Capital, and Weikuai Capital served as the long - term financial advisor.
As the eVTOL industry enters the engineering stage, the aviation electric drive system is becoming one of the core links with the highest technical barriers in the industrial chain. As a key component of the "three - electric system" of electric aircraft, the cost of the aviation electric drive system accounts for about 30 - 40% of the total cost of the aircraft. It not only needs to balance high power density, high torque density, and high efficiency but also needs to meet extremely high airworthiness requirements such as safety, reliability, and testability and maintainability (including multi - channel redundant design, single - point failure protection, and complex thermal management capabilities). At the same time, the software and hardware of the motor controller also need to obtain airworthiness certifications such as DO - 178C and DO - 254, which places extremely high requirements on the aviation engineering experience of the R & D team.
Currently, although many domestic enterprises have deployed in the eVTOL electric drive field, the localization rate of mid - to high - end products is still low. There are still gaps in lightweight design, reliability, and airworthiness experience compared with the international leading level. The industry as a whole is still in the R & D and certification stage, and the market pattern is not yet stable.
The biggest highlight of Cape Kinetic's entry into this track is that its founding team has a complete background in aviation electric drive technology. The core members of the company come from the electric aviation departments of Siemens and Rolls - Royce (abbreviated as Rolls - Royce), including senior technical leaders such as directors and chief engineers, as well as senior low - altitude technology leaders and airworthiness leaders from Comac and leading domestic eVTOL aircraft manufacturers. On average, they have more than 10 years of experience in the aviation industry.
The team joined the electric flight project from 2016 to 2017 and has long been engaged in the design of aviation electric drive systems. They have cooperated with international aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus. In total, they have participated in the development of more than 20 fixed - wing and multi - rotor electric flight platforms, provided pure - electric and hybrid power system designs for multiple projects. The power of the electric drive prototypes ranges from 30kW to 2MW. Most of the projects have entered the flight test stage, accumulating more than 1,500 electric flight experiences, and participating in setting multiple electric flight world records.
The electric drive for civil manned aviation can be roughly divided into two major directions: electric fixed - wing aircraft for regional air traffic (RAM) and eVTOL for urban air traffic (UAM), and the two place very different requirements on system design.
Cape Kinetic has the R & D capabilities for both technical routes and is currently focusing on the UAM direction. The founder, Zhang Qinyin, once served as the director of the Rolls - Royce electric fixed - wing department, leading the Tecnam P - Volt and MDA1 EViator nine - seat electric aircraft projects; the co - founders once served as the chief engineers of the Rolls - Royce electric UAM and RAM departments respectively, responsible for the design of electric drive systems in two different application scenarios.
In terms of product R & D, the company plans to launch the first - generation technology verification prototype (Version 1.0) within this year to comprehensively verify the design scheme. Based on the test results, it will quickly iterate to the 1.5 - generation prototype capable of flight tests, which is expected to be released in the first quarter of next year and conduct the first flight test in cooperation with the aircraft manufacturer in the third quarter of next year. Currently, all prototypes are developed for eVTOL (UAM) application scenarios.
In terms of commercialization, Cape Kinetic has visited more than a dozen domestic eVTOL aircraft manufacturers, deeply understood the industry's needs, and received positive feedback. Currently, it has reached cooperation intentions with some customers. In addition, the company has also signed strategic cooperation agreements with overseas manufacturers in the electric fixed - wing direction.
The following is an excerpt from the communication between Yingke and Zhang Qinyin, the founder of Cape Kinetic:
Yingke: Currently, some cross - border players have emerged in the domestic aviation electric drive field, and some eVTOL aircraft manufacturers have chosen to develop electric drives independently. What do you think are the company's differential advantages?
Zhang Qinyin: Our advantages are mainly reflected in three aspects. First, it is the aviation gene and long - term accumulation of the team. The core members joined the Siemens electric aviation team as early as 2016 and 2017 and have long been focused on the aviation electric drive field, rather than entering from other industries. Currently, the team has senior experts in various professional directions and has deeply cooperated with global leading aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus. In total, they have participated in the development of more than 20 electric flight platform drive systems and have relatively rich project experience in the industry.
We emphasize that we are not "cross - border players" but a professional team that has grown along the aviation industry system because there are significant differences between the R & D of aviation products and ordinary industrial products. There are higher requirements in terms of reliability, safety, and redundant design. Aviation motors also need to undergo strict airworthiness certification, and these experiences require long - term accumulation.
Second, it is the technological innovation ability. If you only need to develop ordinary electric drive systems with a power of 100 to 150 kilowatts, you can find many suppliers globally; but there are very few enterprises that can truly meet the requirements of aviation applications. The biggest challenge in aviation electric drive lies in how to balance lightweight, high - performance, and high - reliability, which is also known as the "impossible triangle" in the industry.
Moreover, we have long carried out R & D around this core issue and maintained in - depth cooperation with aircraft manufacturers, so we have a very good understanding of the actual needs of customers. In key aspects such as lightweight design, reliability guarantee, and complex thermal management, we have formed our own technological accumulation and innovation advantages.
Yingke: Currently, some key components of mid - to high - end domestic aviation electric drives still rely on imports. How does the team balance the domestic and overseas supply chains in the selection of key materials to ensure supply chain safety?
Zhang Qinyin: We have been deeply involved in aviation electric drive in Europe for more than a decade and are very familiar with the European supply chain. At the same time, since last year, we have also been systematically sorting out the domestic supply chain system and introduced a team dedicated to supply chain construction.
After research, we found that China has obvious advantages in many key material fields. For example, in permanent magnets, soft magnets, and high - performance electrical steel, some fields even have a global leading position. Therefore, for these key materials, we prefer to use high - quality domestic suppliers to obtain better supply guarantees and cost advantages. Currently, we have completed the screening of domestic suppliers in multiple aspects such as winding materials, magnetic steel, and permanent magnets and have carried out in - depth cooperation with excellent partners. Of course, in fields such as aviation bearings and some power modules, there is still a reliance on imports, and we are also actively evaluating domestic substitution solutions. However, for core components that are difficult to substitute temporarily and directly affect product performance and reliability, we will still use mature overseas suppliers.
In the long run, we hope to achieve a strategic combination of "advanced European design capabilities + high - quality Chinese supply chain". On the one hand, we will give full play to the team's advantages in technological innovation and system design. On the other hand, we will make full use of the industrial capabilities of China's manufacturing industry to produce aviation electric drive products with excellent performance, cost, and reliability.
Yingke: Therefore, was the company initially established with a global market layout in mind?
Zhang Qinyin: Yes, we have positioned ourselves for the global market since our establishment, which is also a distinctive feature of the team.
Our team itself has a strong international background, so there is no traditional process of "first establishing a foothold in the domestic market and then gradually expanding overseas". Instead, we have simultaneously laid out the domestic and overseas markets from the very beginning. Currently, we are actively connecting with Chinese aircraft manufacturers and also cooperating with overseas aircraft manufacturers, and we have natural advantages in language communication, cultural understanding, and project collaboration.
In fact, we have made substantial progress with some overseas customers. For example, the electric fixed - wing project currently under negotiation comes from an overseas manufacturer. This also verifies the practical feasibility of the cooperation between Chinese and German aviation professional teams in developing the "heart" of low - altitude aviation - the aviation electric drive system, as well as the strategic value and market competitiveness of the international layout.
Views of the investors
Zheng Lianfa, the founder of Lingyi Venture Capital, said: "Our investment in Cape Kinetic is based on three core considerations: First, the electrification of aviation is an irresistible trend, and the low - altitude economy is developing rapidly. As a core link, the aviation electric drive system is a blue - ocean market worth hundreds of billions with both growth potential and scarcity. However, the localization rate of mid - to high - end products is still low, and independent breakthroughs are urgently needed. Second, the core team of Cape Kinetic is led by former executives of the Rolls - Royce electric department. Dr. Zhang Qinyin, the founder, and the core members have world - class R & D and engineering experience, combining technical strength, industry resources, and execution ability. Third, the company focuses on airworthy electric drive systems with high power and high torque - to - weight ratio. It has built differential barriers in technological innovation and can quickly adapt to the needs of aircraft manufacturers, with a clear commercialization path. Lingyi Venture Capital will fully empower the company with capital and industry resources to help it achieve rapid industrialization, seize the opportunity in the global electric aviation market, promote the high - quality development of China's low - altitude economy, and achieve a win - win situation for capital and the industry."
Yin Shihai, the managing director of Xinding Capital, said: "The low - altitude economy has become an important means to cultivate new productive forces. As the 'heart' of electric aircraft, the aviation electric drive system has extremely high technical barriers and is a core link with both scarcity and growth potential in the trillion - level blue - ocean market. The core team of Cape Kinetic has complete R & D and airworthiness experience from global top aviation engine enterprises such as Siemens and Rolls - Royce. Their technology and engineering capabilities are in the first echelon of the industry. We are very optimistic about the unique combination of 'world - class European technical standards + China's excellent supply chain and market demand' of Cape Kinetic. This investment is an important strategic layout of Xinding Capital in the core hard - technology supply chain of the low - altitude economy. We will fully empower the team to help the company connect with domestic aircraft manufacturers and the supply chain system, accelerate airworthiness certification and commercialization, and promote the self - controllability of core components in China's low - altitude economy."