At a low altitude of 300 meters above the ground, an industrial revolution triggered by the game between metal and gravity is reshaping humanity’s imagination of the sky. From the roar of motors in the Shenzhen drone industry park to the first manned test flight at the eVTOL testing base in Hefei, aluminum, with its dual genes of lightweight and high strength, has become a core participant in this transformation. It not only supports the physical structure of the aircraft, but also carries the future prospects of the trillion dollar market.
Full scene penetration of aluminum materials
From structural components to energy systems
In the field of low altitude economy, the application of aluminum has long surpassed traditional understanding. Taking the EH216-S model of EH.US as an example, its main body is made of 2024-T3 aviation aluminum alloy, with a tensile strength of 470MPa, but 60% lighter than steel, perfectly balancing the contradiction between load capacity and endurance. The power cabin shell of DJI’s “Wind and Fire Wheel” series agricultural drones is made of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, and the motor heat dissipation efficiency is improved by 30% through precision extrusion molding technology. A more cutting-edge application has emerged in the energy system – Ningde Times (300750) developed the “Aluminum based Integrated Battery Storage”, which integrates 5083 aluminum alloy with solid-state battery modules to increase energy density to 400Wh/kg. It has been applied to the V2000 model of Fengfei Aviation.
The innovation in the laboratory is equally remarkable. In November 2024, COMAC Beijing Research Institute and Northwestern Polytechnical University jointly released a new aluminum lithium alloy C919A Li, which has a density 5% lower than traditional aluminum alloys and a fatigue life three times longer. It is planned to enter mass production of the main wing beam of logistics drones in 2026. The aluminum alloy powder laser 3D printing equipment of Platinum Technology (688333) has reduced the weight of a certain type of drone servo bracket from 1.2kg to 0.8kg, and the part qualification rate has jumped from 75% to 92%. This technology makes topology optimization design no longer just a paper talk.
Policy catalyzed industrial resonance
Aluminum Application Injects Cardiotonic
The “Action Plan for the Development of Low altitude Economy (2024-2026)” issued in December 2024 clearly requires that “the autonomous guarantee rate of aviation aluminum alloy should exceed 90% by 2025″, and special subsidies should be established in 15 pilot cities. Anhui Province has taken the lead in responding by reducing the value-added tax of aluminum alloy deep processing enterprises in the Hefei Low altitude Economic Demonstration Zone by 50%, and establishing a 20 billion yuan industrial fund to focus on supporting the transformation of aviation aluminum production lines for enterprises such as Ankai Bus (000868). Shenzhen focuses more on technological innovation and provides a subsidy of 150 yuan per kilogram to eVTOL manufacturers who use domestically produced 3D printed aluminum parts, directly promoting a 210% year-on-year increase in orders for Platinum Technology in the first quarter of 2025.
The deterministic future of the trillion dollar market
Technical iteration reconstruction cost curve
According to data from the International Aluminum Association (IAI), the global demand for commercial aviation aluminum will reach 5.8 million tons in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 30%, with China’s market share rising to 40%. Focusing on the sub sectors of the low altitude economy, the GGII Institute of Advanced Technology calculates that the consumption of aluminum materials in the low altitude economy will reach 870000 tons in 2024, with a market size of 23.5 billion yuan. It is expected to exceed 1.25 million tons by 2025, corresponding to a market size of 32 billion yuan and a compound annual growth rate of over 36%. Structural differentiation is significant, with logistics drones consuming 45% of 6-series extruded aluminum profiles, while manned eVTOLs are dominated by high-end 7-series aluminum alloys (accounting for 30%), with the remaining share divided among special equipment such as meteorological detection drones.
Technological iteration is restructuring the cost curve. The 7B50 aluminum alloy, jointly developed by the “Lightweight Alliance” led by COMAC and Yunhai Metal, reduces the thickness of thin-walled parts from 1.2mm to 0.8mm without losing strength by adding trace amounts of scandium element. This technology can reduce the weight of a single logistics drone by 8kg. Based on an expected production of 100000 by 2025, this alone can save 800 tons of aluminum material. More noteworthy is the collaborative innovation between materials and energy: CATL’s latest “Aluminum Solid State Battery” coupling technology combines battery compartments and structural components, increasing eVTOL cargo space by 20%. This breakthrough may give rise to a billion dollar aluminum functional application market.
When the floodgates of low altitude economy are pushed open by policies and technology, aluminum is no longer just a cold industrial raw material, but has become a measure of industrial upgrading. From the atomic recombination in the laboratory, to the intelligent press on the production line, to the flight trajectory above the sky, every gram of aluminum’s “weight reduction” is writing a more imaginative future.
Post time: Apr-01-2025