CATL wins exclusive battery deal with eVTOL firm Blue Vector

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited signed an exclusive supply pact on Nov. 2, 2026, to develop custom aviation batteries for Chinese electric aircraft developer Blue Vector.

The commercial agreement designates the world's largest cell manufacturer as the sole battery partner for the SKYLA V30, a passenger model under Blue Vector's aviation division.

The SKYLA V30 is engineered as a six-seat, two-tonne tiltrotor aircraft with an operational range of 260 kilometers and a maximum cruise speed of 320 kilometers per hour.

Blue Vector rolled out its first full-scale technology demonstrator, designated A/C01, on Aug. 31, 2026, at an aerospace manufacturing base in Harbin.

CATL Chairman Robin Zeng and Blue Vector Chief Executive Wu Qiong attended the formal signing ceremony in Hangzhou, where the aircraft builder is based.

Hu Wenbin, vice president of aviation business at CATL, signed the product documents alongside Zhang Xu, co-founder of Blue Vector.

Blue Vector conducts its electric vertical takeoff and landing operations through its Skyla Aviation brand, targeting urban and regional air corridors across eastern China.

The aircraft developer has raised more than 400 million yuan ($56 million) across five consecutive funding rounds to advance structural engineering and avionics integration.

The startup holds preliminary commitments for roughly 100 passenger aircraft, including an order for 30 airframes placed by Singapore-based fleet operator Moon Aero in September.

CATL supplies roughly 37% of the global automotive power battery market, maintaining the largest cell manufacturing footprint in the international auto industry.

Domestic demand growth for passenger electric vehicles has moderated across China, encouraging cell producers to identify specialized transport segments with superior pricing margins.

Commercial electric aviation imposes weight constraints far more stringent than road transport, requiring cell gravimetric energy densities well above current mass-market car packs.

CATL opened its dedicated aerospace initiative on April 19, 2023, after presenting an experimental condensed matter battery architecture rated at 500 watt-hours per kilogram.

The battery maker said Aug. 9, 2026, that its 350 watt-hour per kilogram prismatic aviation pack had completed adjacent-cell thermal runaway verification trials.

Engineers triggered simultaneous runaway events inside two neighboring cells at the center and edges of the module without initiating thermal spread, CATL said.

Designated observers from the Civil Aviation Administration of China monitored the battery evaluation, satisfying initial airworthiness validation benchmarks for commercial air transport.

The Blue Vector agreement marks CATL's second named airframe supply contract, expanding on an equity and development partnership established with Shanghai-based AutoFlight in August 2024.

CATL invested several hundred million dollars into AutoFlight to secure initial commercial deployment rights for its 350 watt-hour prismatic aviation system.

Tiltrotor designs require intense power spikes during vertical ascent and descent, demanding cell chemistry capable of sustaining high discharge rates without thermal fatigue.

The transition to forward aerodynamic flight lowers continuous current draw, meaning battery packs must balance high burst capability with steady cruising efficiency.

Prismatic cell enclosures provide mechanical rigidity against airframe vibration frequencies, offering packaging advantages over flexible pouch designs in unpressurized aircraft equipment bays.

China has prioritized low-altitude flight corridors under national economic development initiatives, granting regional authorities funding to build vertiport hubs and testing routes.

Municipal planners in Hangzhou and neighboring industrial zones have outlined passenger flight demonstration paths traversing Hangzhou Bay to bypass coastal road congestion.

Rival battery manufacturers in South Korea and Japan have prioritized automotive formats and stationary storage, leaving Chinese cell makers early dominance in domestic aviation supply chains.

LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI have not qualified commercial cell platforms for passenger aircraft, directing aerospace research toward long-term solid-state programs.

CATL established dedicated aeronautical joint ventures in 2023 to engineer structural battery enclosures that meet civil aviation flammability and impact regulations.

Blue Vector plans to conduct flight control system integration, ground endurance runs and hover-to-cruise aerodynamic transition tests on the A/C01 demonstrator before June 30, 2027.

The joint release did not state the monetary value of the partnership, the cell chemistry, total pack capacity or commercial serial delivery dates.

CATL did not submit an exchange filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, as the transaction fell below capital thresholds requiring mandatory regulatory notification.

The agreement secures Blue Vector's primary propulsion supply line while extending CATL's proprietary battery architecture deeper into certified passenger aviation hardware.