IoT Think Tank Original

The low-altitude economy, which was officially proposed in 2021, has seen accelerated development this year. Especially in March of this year, after appearing as one of the key tasks in the 2024 Chinese government report, the low-altitude economy has become one of the most popular technological and business concepts this year.

On one hand, the central and local governments have frequently issued related policies, viewing it as an important engine for strategic emerging industries and the development of new quality productive forces. On the other hand, driven by policies, capital markets have actively participated. Relevant data shows that in less than half a year, financing in the low-altitude economy sector has reached 35 cases, surpassing the total number of financings in 2023 and 2022.

With the support of policies and capital, the growth prospects for the low-altitude economy market size are considerable. According to the "China Low-Altitude Economic Development Research Report (2024)" released by CCID Consulting, China's low-altitude economy scale reached 505.95 billion yuan in 2023, with a growth rate of up to 33.8%. Optimistically, the low-altitude economy scale is expected to exceed one trillion yuan, reaching 1,064.46 billion yuan by 2026.

Currently, the official has not given an authoritative definition of the concept of "low-altitude economy." The industry consensus believes that the low-altitude economy mainly focuses on low-altitude flight activities below 3,000 meters, led by various manned and unmanned aircraft including helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), industrial drones, consumer drones, and urban governance drones, radiating and driving the integrated economic development of related fields.

Why is the government actively calling for the development of the low-altitude economy? What key obstacles need to be overcome for the development of the low-altitude economy? Why is the construction of low-altitude networks crucial for the development of the low-altitude economy? This article will discuss these issues.

Why is the low-altitude economy exploding now?

Since socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era, China's economy has also shifted from a past stage of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development. The central government has repeatedly emphasized that building a modern economic system requires transforming development methods, optimizing economic structures, and transforming growth momentum.

As traditional engines supporting China's economic development in the past, such as the real estate industry and low-end manufacturing, have entered a plateau phase. There is an urgent need for new growth poles to take the baton and support China's economy to achieve sustained, stable, and prosperous development. Against this backdrop, new technologies and new formats such as the low-altitude economy, new energy, artificial intelligence, and robotics have become new engines to help China's economy operate healthily.

As Mr. Yang Jincai, an academician of the European Academy of Sciences and the Chairman of the World Drone Congress, said: "Low-altitude, as an untapped experimental field and economic airspace, the demand for development towards the sky is determined by people's practical need to move from two dimensions to three dimensions through cities."

From this statement, it is not difficult to see that besides the need for new engines for economic development, some practical application scenarios also require the assistance of the low-altitude economy to overcome difficulties. For example, energy inspections, emergency rescue, agricultural maintenance, cargo transportation, etc. The development of the low-altitude economy is also conducive to innovating traditional public service methods and improving the level of social governance and public service efficiency.

Finally, the rapid development and breakthroughs in some key technologies in recent years have also made people see the possibility of a low-altitude economy explosion. According to relevant practitioners, 70% to 80% of the components of new energy vehicles can be used in eVTOLs. In addition, the maturity of China's aviation technology and the improvement of the industrial chain, the increase in battery cell energy density, the maturity of high-power and high-efficiency motors, and the improvement of control and algorithm technology have also made the implementation of the low-altitude economy possible.

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