Wan Xiangdong, Director General of East China Regional Administration of Civil Aviation of China, gave a speech during a press conference today.
The first Advanced Air Mobility Expo Shanghai will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center from July 23 to 26 next year, with the low-altitude economy a growing focus of the country.
The low-altitude economy refers to a wide-ranging industry revolving around manned and unmanned civil aviation vehicles usually operating below an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). It includes passenger transport, cargo delivery and many other related services.
As an important component of the low-altitude economy, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) refers specifically to highly automated and electric aircraft, often considered to be air taxis or electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The expo is expected to reach a scale of 100,000 square meters, including thematic exhibitions, summit forums, trade docking, experience activities in four major segments, and set up a “low-altitude flight experience area” for test flights and other activities, with more than 500 exhibitors attending.
“One of the highlights of this expo will be the close interaction between products and visitors. The exhibition ceiling will be high, so exhibitors will be able to demonstrate their products directly in the hall, including performing flight shows,” said Ning Feng, president of the National Convention and Exhibition Center Shanghai.
“Visitors will be able to observe them up close and personal, making the flying machines no longer mysterious,” Ning added.
The expo will focus on the industrial chain of low-altitude infrastructure, manufacturing, and supporting services, low-altitude transportation, urban and rural management, commercial integration applications, personal consumption, and other application chains, creating a platform to showcase and exchange for the management, research, production, services and applications of the low-altitude economy.
Zhou Jin, vice president of Donghao Lansheng Group, said: “I believe that both professional exhibitors and ordinary visitors can gain a lot from this expo.”
Shen Mengdan / SHINE
Organizers of exhibtions sign strategic cooperation agreements.
In 2021, the nation included the low-altitude economy in its development plan for the very first time.
In 2024, the low-altitude economy was written into the Government Work Report for the first time, with provinces issuing high-quality development and guidance for the low-altitude economy.
“The development of the low-altitude economy is a new kinetic energy to promote economic development. Shanghai has become one of the earliest cities in the country to lay out the low-altitude economy.”
Rong Zhiqin, deputy director of the Shanghai Economic and Information Commission, said, “We hope that we can explore a new development model for Shanghai through this expo.”
This July, Shanghai officially launches its action plan for the development of the low-altitude economy industry (2024-2027)” and set the goal of establishing a complete industrial system of R&D and design, assembly, and manufacturing, airworthiness testing, and commercial application of new low-altitude aircraft by 2027.
At present, low-altitude economics has been applied to various scenarios in Shanghai.
On March 29, the “Shanghai Low Altitude Cooperative Management Demonstration Zone” was unveiled in Jinshan District, with the first demonstration of Shanghai’s low altitude cooperative management launched at the East China UAV Base.
Jinshan East China Drone Base became one of the first “civil unmanned aerial test zones” in China.
In addition, Yangpu District has launched drone takeaway deliveries, and Yangtze River Delta cross-regional routes have also been piloted in Shanghai.
CFP
An electric vertical takeoff and landing unmanned manned eVTOL is displayed at the World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Shanghai on July 5, 2024.
Shanghai’s eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aerial Vehicle) innovators account for about 50 percent of the country’s total, with the industry-leading eVTOL companies clustering here. They include Auto Flight, Time’s Technology, TCab Tech, and Vertaxi.
There are currently 16 listed companies related to the low-altitude economy in Shanghai with most based in Pudong New District and Songjiang District.
According to data from the China Center for Information Industry Development, the scale of the country’s low-altitude economy reached 506 billion yuan (US$70.7 billion) in 2023, with year-on-year growth of 33.8 percent.
The country’s eVTOL industry was worth 980 million yuan in 2023, posting year-on-year growth of 77.3 percent, while the civil drone industry reached 117.43 billion yuan in 2023, up 32 percent year-on-year.
,https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2408208474/