CATL Invests in Fengfei Aviation for eVTOL Battery R & D
TapTechNews August 3rd news, CATL and Fengfei Aviation signed a strategic investment and cooperation agreement today, and CATL exclusively invested several hundred million US dollars to Fengfei Aviation (TapTechNews note: the specific amount has not been announced for the time being).
Fengfei Aviation said it will work hand in hand with CATL for a long time to jointly commit to the research and development of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) aviation batteries. The two sides will combine their respective resources and technical advantages to focus on improving the energy density and performance of eVTOL batteries, supporting longer flight distances and higher payloads for eVTOL, and at the same time, there will also be more significant improvements in safety and stability.
After the completion of this financing, Fengfei Aviation will continue to focus on the in-depth research and development and wide application of eVTOL technology, and further improve the safety and reliability of air logistics and air travel solutions. The company will accelerate the research and development and airworthiness certification work of the manned version model, Shengshilong.
Just at the beginning of this month, the Shengshilong eVTOL electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft under Fengfei Aviation just completed its first flight across the Yangtze River, taking off from the Nanjing UAV Base located in Pukou District, Nanjing, flying across the Yangtze River and circling and patrolling along the river before returning to the base, with a flight range of 25 kilometers and a round-trip flight duration of 10 minutes. Fengfei Aviation's flight achieved the first cross-Yangtze River flight of eVTOL above the tonnage for the first time.
In the case of the straight-line distance between the Nanjing UAV Base and the Yuzui Wetland Park on the opposite bank, the straight-line distance between the two places is not long, but the ground journey is as long as 20 miles and takes 25 minutes, while using Shengshilong for a one-way straight-line flight only takes 5 minutes, saving 80% of the time.