The Bao’an district of the vast city of Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong province is set to become a hub for advanced air mobility (AAM) services, with its district government now having signed partnership agreements with three eVTOL aircraft developers. Earlier this month, officials there signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China-based AutoFlight, which is working to bring its Prosperity I aircraft to market. This followed similar alliances recently announced with another Chinese company, EHang, and Germany’s Lilium, which this week published its latest letter to shareholders reporting on the second quarter of 2023.
The agreement with AutoFlight, whose Chinese name is Shanghai Fengfei Aviation Technology, will result in AutoFlight establishing a marketing center and a research and development institute in Bao’an. It is one of nine districts of Shenzhen and has a population of around 4.4 million people. The wider Shenzhen area has more than 17 million inhabitants.
As with EHang and Lilium, AutoFlight and the district government will also explore the potential for eVTOL air services across the Greater Bay area, which also encompasses Hong Kong, Macao, Zhuhai, and Guangzhou. AutoFlight’s operational arm, Fengfei Airlines, plans to launch trial flights between Shenzhen and Zhuhai, with the 50-mile trip expected to take 15 minutes, compared with a drive time of up to three hours.
The agreements are part of the Bao’an district government’s plans to develop what it refers to in newly published reports as a “low-altitude economic industry.” According to local officials, there are just over 600 companies in the aspiring aviation hub already active in various AAM activities, including uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturing and operations.
AutoFlight has manufacturing operations at Jining in Shandong province and Kunshan in Jiangsu province, as well as a facility in Shanghai. The group also has research and development facilities working on the Prosperity I program in Germany and in California.
EHang Wants To Connect Bay Area Communities
Guangzhou-based EHang is trying to complete type certification for its two-seat, fully autonomous EH216-S eVTOL vehicle with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). It is collaborating with Bao’an officials to establish the so-called “Wings of the Bay Area” urban air traffic operations demonstration center and says this could consist of 10 routes by the end of 2023 and will be based in the southern coastal zone of Bao’an.
Under EHang’s MoU, the Bao’an district government has agreed to provide support to build the required infrastructure and for lease financing arrangements and flight operations that could include an assembly and delivery center for the vehicle, which the company intends to produce in high volumes. EHang also plans to establish a research and development center and maintenance facility in Bao’an.
The apparent willingness of Chinese authorities to embrace eVTOL aircraft is part of a wider policy to stimulate the country’s UAV sector. According to the CAAC, the UAV industry boasts an impressive annual compound growth rate of approximately 13.8 percent, with over 15,000 UAV enterprises now trading. The number of registered individual UAV owners has surpassed 700,000 and the total registered UAV count has reached one million. Nationwide, the cumulative annual flight volume of UAVs is around 20 million hours.
Against this backdrop, China has been organizing industry and government seminars to facilitate information sharing to strengthen the harmonization and management of low-altitude airspace. In response, the Bao'an district released its low-altitude economic industrial plan and has set ambitious targets to establish ground infrastructure by 2025, including more than 100 vertiports. The local government says it will also create more than 50 UAV routes and facilitate 300,000 cargo drone commercial flights annually as it looks to attract leading firms engaged in low-altitude research and development, manufacturing, and operations.
AutoFlight Steps Up Development Work with Prosperity I eVTOL Model
Meanwhile, AutoFlight’s engineering teams in China and Germany are working to achieve type certification for the four-seat Prosperity I model, first with CAAC and then with EASA in Europe (in 2025, the company hopes) and with the FAA. In March, its latest Generation 4 prototype claimed a world record for the longest eVTOL flight on a single electric charge, logging 250.3 kilometers (156.4 miles).
AutoFlight expects to have a cargo-carrying version of Prosperity flying by next year. Mark Henning, managing director of AutoFlight Europe, told FutureFlight this will allow the company to evaluate the aircraft’s performance in early trial operations before it goes into series production and also as part of efforts to meet EASA’s means of compliance.
In June, AutoFlight reached an agreement with French partners including airports group ADP to join the Re.Invent Air Mobility exercise that is to be conducted during the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. This will allow it to conduct experimental flights with the Prosperity I during the events in July and August using the Paris-area Pontoise Airport as a base.
