China’s AutoFlight currently holds the record for world’s longest eVTOL flight with the 155.7-mile (250.6-km) mark it set in 2023 in the dramatic Prosperity air taxi designed by former McLaren and Lilium draft king Frank Stephenson. Now its robust battery and range-maximizing technology is poised to get a major boost, as the company has signed a collaborative agreement with CATL, the global battery leader that’s launched some of the market’s most energy-dense battery offerings. That 155-mile achievement is sure to be overshadowed by what this heavy-hitting duo comes up with in the future.
AutoFlight announced this month it has signed an exclusive investment and cooperation agreement that will see them partner on joint research and development of aviation-grade battery technology. The agreement will also see CATL invest hundreds of millions of dollars in AutoFlight.
This is huge news, and it’s hard to imagine another two-company team-up that could make such a splash in the eVTOL space. Not only is CATL the world’s largest battery manufacturer, and a supplier of major automakers around the world, including Tesla, BMW and Toyota, it’s also been developing some of the most energy-dense batteries in the world, including a 500-Wh/kg condensed battery aimed at the eVTOL market.
In July, CATL announced it had performed a test flight of a 4-ton aircraft using the battery. Even more impressively, ChinaDaily reported at the time that CATL believes the battery tech is capable of supporting a currently unfathomable 2,000- to 3,000-km (1,240 to 1,865-mile) range in an 8-ton electric aircraft within just a few years’ time.
By partnering with AutoFlight, CATL officially establishes its presence in the eVTOL market, where its long-range battery prowess could be particularly disruptive. And it puts serious money down on a very promising horse.
In three short years, we’ve seen AutoFlight make the transition from drones to air taxis with an initial 2021 prototype, bring on a world-renowned vehicular design chief in Stephenson to evolve the design into the arresting Prosperity passenger eVTOL, rapidly achieve transition flight with the Prosperity I proof-of-concept, and quickly tick off additional milestones like the 155-mile distance record and “world first intercity air taxi flight.”
AutoFlight also obtained type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for its CarryAll cargo aircraft earlier this year, claiming a world first for a one-ton-class eVTOL. It has since applied for type certification for the five-seat Prosperity eVTOL taxi.
In its current form, the Prosperity is designed around a single pilot and four passengers, relying on 10 lift propellers and three push props powered by a 160-kWh battery to carry a payload up to 400 kg (880 lb). It boasts a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) to go along with its 250-km range.
Just last week, Prosperity successfully completed a test flight over China’s Yangtze River in the city of Nanjing. Demonstrating the absolute FOMO-generating, traffic-busting potential of eVTOL tech at large, the flight turned what would have been a 25-minute 20-km (12.4-mile) drive across the bridge into a direct five-minute 5.5-km (3.4-mile) lift-and-cruise.
Moving forward, AutoFlight and CATL plan to pool resources and technical expertise toward enhancing the energy density and overall performance of eVTOL batteries in support of longer flight distances and higher payload capacities. The extra funding will also enable it to expedite the further R&D and airworthiness certification of the Prosperity air taxi.