CATL will develop custom aviation batteries for Blue Vector’s six-seat Skyla V30 eVTOL, after the Hangzhou start-up chose it as exclusive supplier.
CATL has signed a strategic partnership with Hangzhou-based Blue Vector Intelligent Technology to develop custom aviation batteries for its Skyla V30 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The two companies signed strategic and product cooperation agreements, with Blue Vector choosing CATL as its exclusive battery partner, CATL said on 2 November. Neither company disclosed the value of the deal, the battery specifications or a supply timeline.
Six-seat tiltrotor
The Skyla V30 is an all-electric, six-seat tiltrotor designed for intercity passenger travel. It made its debut in July, and the first full-scale technology demonstrator, A/C01, was rolled out in Harbin on 31 August.
In September Blue Vector said it had signed pre-sale orders for 60 V30s at the Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, including 30 from Singapore-based Moon Aero, its first overseas orders, taking cumulative pre-sales past 100 aircraft. Its eVTOL business has raised more than RMB 400 million (approx. US$59 million) across five funding rounds in around six months, according to CnEVPost.
CATL’s eVTOL push
It isn’t CATL’s first move into the air. In August 2024 it agreed to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Shanghai eVTOL maker AutoFlight and develop eVTOL batteries together, and last November the pair showed a floating vertiport that combines a take-off and landing pad, energy storage and charging on a battery-powered vessel, according to CnEVPost.
