This week, there have been frequent developments in the application of eVTOL. The two eVTOLs under Guangzhou Automobile Group and Aviation Industry Corporation of China both choose to be equipped with semi-solid state battery products from solid-state battery startups.

Among them, GAC Group has released the flying car brand "GOVY High Domain" and the first composite wing flying car GOVY AirJet, and plans to launch airworthiness certification and lay out production lines in 2025.

According to Gaogong Lithium Battery, the GOVY AirJet will be equipped with a semi-solid state battery developed by Jinyu New Energy. The company was incubated by doctoral teams from universities such as Peking University and Columbia University. As of September this year, it has completed six rounds of financing, with major investors including State Power Investment Corporation and Jiuzhi Capital.

Jinyu New Energy is a solid-state battery startup incubated by doctoral teams from universities such as Peking University and Columbia University. As of September this year, it has completed six rounds of financing, with investors including State Power Investment Corporation and Jiuzhi Capital.

The company has developed a differentiated product matrix based on lithium metal battery technology, including the "Boundless", "Fuyao", and "Wanshan" series. The Wuji series battery has an energy density of over 400Wh/kg and a volumetric energy density of 1200Wh/L; The Fuyao series supports high-power output of 3C-5C at an energy density of 300-340Wh/kg; The Wanshan series focuses on fast charging performance, supporting fast charging and discharging of 6C/10.5C and long cycling of 1500 cycles.

In addition to GAC Group, Jinyu New Energy has recently collaborated with Qiyuan Xin Power to develop a 600kWh semi-solid commercial vehicle battery pack, with a system energy density of 165Wh/kg. It can charge 120kWh in 6 minutes in 2C mode and supports 7C discharge and V2G functions. It is planned to be mass-produced in 2025.

In the fields of eVTOL and commercial vehicles, Jinyu New Energy has reached cooperation with important customers, and its industrial progress as a solid-state battery startup cannot be underestimated. According to disclosure, the cumulative delivery amount of Jinyu New Energy's semi-solid state batteries has approached 100 million yuan, with research and development testing lines and the ability to produce 2GWh annually in mass production.

The newly launched 3-ton tilting rotor eVTOL product "AR-E3000" by Aviation Industry Corporation of China will be used in urban air traffic, aviation logistics transportation, medical rescue and other fields. The semi-solid state battery carried by the aircraft is provided by Foshan Topu Technology, with an energy density of 400Wh/kg and supporting continuous high rate discharge of 10C.

Tuopu Technology adopts a technology system of lithium manganese based positive electrode, silicon carbon negative electrode, and polymer solid electrolyte, with an ion conductivity of over 2mS/cm. Combined with dry electrode technology, it significantly improves battery performance. In February of this year, Toptech received a 1.5 billion yuan investment from the European Capital Investment Group to build a 4GWh solid-state battery production line, laying the foundation for its promotion of the industrialization of semi-solid state batteries.

In addition, Changan Automobile will hold an eVTOL related press conference on December 21st. In August of this year, Changan Automobile increased its investment in the solid-state battery enterprise, Tailan New Energy. Its all solid state battery plan is prioritized for use in low altitude aircraft, and the two sides have a foundation for further cooperation in eVTOL, which deserves continuous attention.

Looking back at this year, the certainty of using semi-solid state batteries in eVTOL is mainly driven by CATL and Yihang Intelligence from the power end and terminal end respectively in the industry.

From the strategic investment of billions of dollars in Fengfei Aviation to the successful test flight of a 4-ton electric aircraft using condensed matter batteries, CATL is a continuous verifier of the application of solid-state batteries in low altitude economy. Recently, market news has spread that the second-generation 450Wh/kg condensed matter battery has entered the A-sample stage and is expected to be mass-produced in 2027.

In the second half of the year, EH216-S, an eVTOL product under Yihang Intelligent, equipped with Falcon Lithium Metal Semi Solid State Battery (oxide, 480 Wh/kg energy density) developed by Xinjie Energy, has completed flight tests and achieved a single uninterrupted flight time of 48 minutes and 10 seconds, suitable for different flight requirements. The endurance time has significantly increased by 60% to 90% compared to before.

Yihang Intelligent emphasized that the company is still exploring battery research and development with other partners for different application scenarios, such as ultra fast charging and discharging battery solutions suitable for high-frequency short distance flights. In addition to Xinjie Energy, Yihang Intelligence has also reached cooperation agreements with companies such as Guoxuan High tech and Juwan Technology Research to develop batteries. EVTOL's new force Xiaopeng's flying car has close cooperation with China Innovation Airlines on large cylindrical batteries.

Overall, the application of semi-solid state batteries in the eVTOL field has shown certain first mover advantages. From Guangzhou Automobile Group and Jinyu New Energy, to Aviation Industry Group and Toptech's high rate batteries, various products have their own highlights in energy density, charge discharge rate, and cycle life.

However, solid-state batteries with different material systems are still in competition, and the dominant technological paths such as oxides and polymers are not yet clear. It is still unknown which type of battery technology will become the mainstream in the future.

As more companies join this competition, technological updates in the eVTOL field will continue to accelerate the landing of semi-solid state batteries. As one of the core technological supports for low altitude economy, semi-solid state batteries not only meet the needs of high-performance aviation, but also create new opportunities for the popularization of new energy battery technology in more fields. In the coming years, its development achievements may become an important benchmark for measuring the maturity of solid-state battery technology.