What makes Chengdu stand out in the competition for the "City in the Sky"? | 36Kr Industrial Belt Project
Low-altitude Economy, A City Competition.
Written by A Zhi
One hundred years ago, the three major American automotive giants, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, were successively born in Detroit. Along with them, in addition to foreign competitors, a large number of component suppliers also emerged.
The automotive revolution changed the fate of Detroit, making this industrial city replace Europe and become the new "World Automotive Industry Center" in the middle of the 20th century.
The development of history tells us that Every transportation revolution will bring the rise of a city.
But the ending of Detroit adds another piece of experience: If a city wants to maintain prosperity, it is probably not enough to seize only one change.
In contrast to the decades when the domestic urbanization process has accelerated, transportation changes have also driven the development of many cities. For example, the port for ships in Shanghai, the high-speed rail in Zhengzhou, and the aviation industry in Chengdu.
The development of these cities can almost find its source here, but they also delve into different fields on this basis, making breakthroughs in their respective areas to open up pathways for the landing of new industries.
The low-altitude economy may be the new field that has been given the most expectations this year. Its development includes four key elements of "sky, ground, human, and machine". Simply put, it is the open airspace, the ground infrastructure, professional talents, and the supporting of the industrial chain.
Looking at these four key elements in the southwest, focusing on Chengdu, almost every one can be traced.
The southwest region is a gathering place for the military and aviation industries. As one of the core developed cities in the "West Triangle Economic Circle", Chengdu has always been an important aviation industry center in the country.
This means that at least in terms of "flying into the sky", Chengdu not only has the manufacturing foundation but also the infrastructure support. After the reform and opening up, China has increased its investment in science and technology construction, and the conquest of high and new technology has become the top priority in the domestic scientific community. Aviation research institutions represented by the "611 Institute" have developed rapidly in Chengdu, and a large number of talents have gathered here to engage in technology and projects. Many of the entrepreneurs who are leading the way in the low-altitude economy field today actually come from these research institutes in Chengdu.
The key elements to support the development of a trillion-yuan-level industry are already in place. This not only allows Chengdu to seize the opportunity of urban industrial change once again but also provides a solid development foundation for entrepreneurs.
Although there are still many non-consensual parts in the low-altitude economy field today, almost all entrepreneurs agree that in the future, the competition among enterprises is not a ranking competition between companies, but a competition between one ecosystem and another.
In this city competition centered around the low-altitude economy, entrepreneurs all want to seize the policy dividend period and integrate into the industrial ecosystem, but it is not easy to truly participate in the opportunity allocation of the industrial chain.
In order to help start-up enterprises in the low-altitude economy field further understand regional advantages, integrate into industrial cooperation, and link landing opportunities, On October 24, the ninth stop of the "36Kr Industrial Belt Project" came to Chengdu High-tech Zone. In this stop, we collaborated with Lenovo and brought more than 20 high-quality enterprises to the industrial frontline to visit Wofeichangkong and Zhongheng Co., Ltd. on the spot. We conducted in-depth exchanges on issues such as product technology, business development, industrial policies, and ecological cooperation among enterprises.
Industry Site
Wofeichangkong, Taking Off in the Southwest Central City
Since the official announcement of completing the first market-oriented financing of over 100 million yuan in June 2023, in just one year, Wofeichangkong has successively obtained three rounds of financing. This star enterprise dedicated to the research and development of low-altitude manned aircraft is not only a popular target in the primary market but also a powerful label for Chengdu to attract high-quality low-altitude industrial projects to land.
In May this year, the global headquarters of Wofeichangkong officially landed in Chengdu High-tech Zone, and the manufacturing base is being constructed simultaneously. After the project is put into production, it is expected to produce 40 - 50 eVTOLs per year.
In June, Wofeichangkong announced that its independently developed strategic product AE200 Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft Airworthiness Technology Verification Aircraft successfully completed the first public display of the full tilt transition flight-related subjects, becoming the first eVTOL enterprise in China and the second in the world to complete this type of test subject.
1:4 Scale Reduced AE200 Model Aircraft
At present, there are mainly three technical routes in the eVTOL field: multi-rotor, compound wing, and tilt-rotor, and the research and development difficulty increases in turn.
The so-called tilt-rotor, simply put, is that the propeller can achieve a 90-degree tilt, and then through the change of the tilt angle, provide power in different directions for the aircraft.
The tilt-rotor configuration has high technical difficulty, but it has obvious comparative advantages in terms of range, cruising speed, and load capacity. At this stage, there are only three eVTOL enterprises in the world that can achieve full tilt flight in technology. In addition to Wofeichangkong, the other two are Joby and Archer in the United States.
A set of data can give a more intuitive feeling. AE200 currently uses pure electric power, with a speed of 248 kilometers per hour. On the basis of one-hour endurance, the range can reach 200 kilometers, and it can accommodate up to 6 people. Referring to the fact that the urban residents' intra-city travel is usually within 30 kilometers, the application scenarios of AE200 are not limited to short-distance intra-city transportation, but also can support cross-city travel, becoming a supplement to future public transportation.
The standard configuration planned for AE200 is the "1 + 4" cockpit system, that is, one pilot and four passengers. Therefore, the actual size of the AE200 is actually relatively large, and the wingspan can reach 14.5 meters.
Driving Simulator Cabin
Although there is still a certain distance from officially being put into commercial operation, the response from the industry is good. As early as last year, Wofeichangkong signed a 100-aircraft AE200 agreement order with Hualong Aviation. In April this year, Wofeichangkong reached a strategic cooperation with CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co., Ltd., the largest general aviation company in China, to apply new technology products in traditional helicopter and other operational scenarios, and gradually promote the commercial landing of eVTOL.
Previously, the Southwest Regional Administration of Civil Aviation of China has officially accepted the Type Certification Application for Wofeichangkong AE200 - 100 and issued the first Notice of Acceptance of the Application for Type Certification of Manned eVTOL in China.
Relevant responsible persons said on the spot that Wofeichangkong is expected to pass the airworthiness certification and TC (Type Certification) in 2026. In the next 3 - 4 years, it will explore demonstrative commercial operations through point-to-point cooperation and other methods. With the maturity of policies, regulations, and infrastructure, it is expected to enter the mass consumer level in 2030 and achieve commercial large-scale operations.
Zhongheng Co., Ltd., Rising in the Capital of Industrial UAVs
If eVTOL is the hottest sub-track in the low-altitude economy field this year, then UAVs are the most certain and already verified sector.
There is a saying in the industry, "Consumer UAVs look at Shenzhen, and industrial UAVs look at Chengdu".
In fact, as early as ten years ago, the industrial UAV industry in Chengdu began to sprout. Zhongheng Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest pioneers. The founder, Ren Bin, graduated from Tsinghua University with a major in mechanics. He used to work in a military research institute and also participated in the China Manned Space Project. He is a typical representative of a scientist entrepreneur.
Established in 2010, Zhongheng Co., Ltd. focused on the research and development of flight control and navigation systems in the early stage, which is also the most core technical link of UAVs. At the end of 2014, the flight control system developed by Zhongheng Co., Ltd. ranked among the top three in the domestic market share, and its customer objects included research institutes, universities, and UAV companies.
In 2015, Zhongheng Co., Ltd. received an investment from Zeng Liqing, the founder of DCM Ventures, and began to shift to the research and development and production of the entire UAV. It was listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2021, becoming the first and only industrial UAV listed company in China.
The production base of Zhongheng Co., Ltd. in Tianfu New Area, Chengdu, is currently the largest vertical takeoff and landing fixed-wing UAV production base in China. The entire park covers an area of 54,000 square meters, with an investment of 340 million yuan, including a manufacturing plant, a research and development building, a testing area, an office area, a living area, and supporting facilities.
According to the on-site introduction by the staff, the entire manufacturing process of a UAV from raw material production to the delivery of the entire machine can be completed in one building. The maximum annual output planned for the entire park at the initial stage was 3,700 units, but with the improvement of technology and craftsmanship, the actual production capacity is currently expected to be greater than this number.
Zhongheng Co., Ltd. UAV Production Workshop
Compared with emerging tracks such as eVTOL, the product system and scene application of industrial UAVs are more mature and abundant. Zhongheng Co., Ltd. targets industry and government clients, and its products are mainly applied in six major sectors: geographic mapping, security patrol, mine mining, energy inspection, emergency disaster rescue, and smart city construction.
During the visit to the park, we saw the main products of Zhongheng Co., Ltd. at this stage, including 9 vertical takeoff and landing fixed-wing UAVs, 3 rotorcrafts, 1 helicopter, and 1 large-load runway fixed-wing UAV.
CW - 100 UAV
For example, CW - 100, as the largest of all vertical takeoff and landing fixed-wing UAVs of Zhongheng Co., Ltd. at present, adopts a hybrid oil-electric drive. Its takeoff weight can reach 110 kilograms, the flight duration is 10 hours, and it can carry a 25-kilogram mission load. This kind of long-endurance and large-load UAV can perform complex tasks and is therefore widely used in multiple fields such as emergency communication, reconnaissance and monitoring, disaster rescue, and so on.
In addition to UAV products, there are also software and application platforms. "Zongheng Kunlun Unattended System" is the UAV innovation platform system that Zhongheng Co., Ltd. has been striving to build through "Dapeng UAV + Unattended System + Zongheng Cloud" in the past two years.
Unattended System
Simply put, it is a software and hardware combination mode of UAV + hangar + cloud platform, enabling UAVs to achieve truly unmanned operations in various mission environments as much as possible. For example, the entire process from inspection, charging, to data return can be completed automatically. At the same time, relying on the maturity of technologies such as 5G and AI, remote planning and command and unmanned monitoring can be realized.
Ren Bin, the chairman of Zhongheng Co., Ltd., has previously publicly stated that industrial unmanned will enter the "iPhone Era", that is, Industrial UAVs will develop in the direction of unmanned operation, tool platformization, and platform ecologization.
Industry Co-creation
Civil aviation data shows that the scale of China's low-altitude economy exceeded 500 billion yuan in 2023, and is expected to reach 2 trillion yuan in 2030. The "National Comprehensive Three-Dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council directly pulls the industrial scale expectation in 2035 to 6 trillion yuan.
This means that if the low-altitude economy can continue to develop, A 10-year 10-fold growth opportunity is presented to cities and enterprises, and some people have already reached the industrial frontline.
Through a one-day visit and exchange at the production base, more than 20 enterprises and institutions have conducted in-depth exchanges with Wofeichangkong and Zhongheng Co., Ltd., the two leading enterprises in different tracks, around specific issues such as industrial policies, product technologies, application scenarios, and ecological cooperation.
In the industrial sharing and co-creation session, the two benchmark enterprises also conducted detailed sharing around their own businesses, industry policies, trends, and other aspects.
When it comes to the considerations for landing in Chengdu, Liang Jiong, the brand public relations director of Wofeichangkong emphasized three key elements: the support of the industrial chain, the density of talents, and industrial policies. As the capital of industrial UAVs, Chengdu has a solid industrial manufacturing foundation, strong policy support, and a high density of aviation industry talents. Some talents can also be directly hired into the eVTOL field. For start-up companies in the entrepreneurial period, such key talents are particularly important for technological breakthroughs.