Chinese Aeronautical Establishment, a state-run aerospace institute, signed an agreement with two civil aircraft builders to develop high-speed eVTOL on September 25.
At the signing ceremony, representatives from the AVIC China Industry and Technology Co. Ltd (HK: 2357) and its subsidiary making helicopters put pen to paper at an office building in Beijing.
The three parties pledged resources and efforts to develop high-speed eVTOL aircraft, or H-eVTOL for short, as an upgrade version of existing eVTOL models and their variants in the market.
As eVTOL went from being an obscure niche segment to becoming one of the most promising investment choices and media darlings, state entities have followed in the footsteps of private entrepreneurs and jumped on the bandwagon in recent years.
This time around, media reported that Chinese Aeronautical Establishment had broached the notion of a partnership with AVIC and its chopper-making unit as early as 2022, in a bid to establish a toehold in the eVTOL industry at its incipient stage.
After about a year and a half of feasibility studies and market research, the three sides came up with a scheme for cooperation by the end of June this year, which in turn won the recognition by external advisors and experts.
Nonetheless, few details were disclosed about the tie-up.
The only thing that signatories to the agreement did reveal is that a prototype will come out in mid 2024 and is expected to complete its maiden flight by then.
