Low-altitude economy is a new economic form that integrates low-altitude flight activities and industries. The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of 2023 proposed to create a number of strategic emerging industries such as bio-manufacturing, commercial aerospace and low-altitude economy. In recent years, Wuhu, Anhui province, has vigorously promoted the layout and construction of the aviation industry, promoted the development of low-altitude economy, actively cultivated and expanded low-altitude economic entities, enabled the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries through science and technology, helped accelerate the formation of China's low-altitude economic innovation ecology, and made every effort to build a low-altitude economic development model.

Advantages Feature energy storage

The low-altitude economy relies on the low-altitude airspace within 1000 meters, and is towed by various low-altitude flight activities of manned and unmanned aircraft, which drives the integration and development of related fields, and has the characteristics of long industrial chain, wide radiation coverage, growth and strong driving force. In February 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and The State Council issued the Outline of the National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning, proposing "the development of transport platform economy, hub economy, channel economy, and low-altitude economy", which for the first time included low-altitude economy in the national planning. Anhui has become the third province in the country and the first province in the Yangtze River Delta to pilot the reform of low-altitude airspace management.

Low-altitude economy has broad development prospects. At the end of 2013, relying on the carrier construction of Xuanzhou Civil Airport and Sanyuan General Airport, Wuhu City decided to build Wuhu Aviation Industry Park by taking advantage of the strong manufacturing foundation, complete industrial categories and convenient industrial supporting facilities in 沚 District, which opened the prelude to the development of low-altitude economy in Wuhu City.

Wuhu is located in the junction of the Yangtze River Delta and the central region, and has the unique location advantage of the Yangtze River Delta and the factor cost advantage of resource agglomeration in the central region. Yin Qiong, secretary of the 沚 District Party Committee of Wuhu Bay, said that in the future, major national strategies such as the integration of the Yangtze River Delta and the Yangtze River Economic Belt will converge here, the deployment of important regions such as Nanjing Metropolitan area and Hefei metropolitan area will be superimposed on each other, and the advantages of industrial resources in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces and one city will be shared.

In order to fully boost market confidence and stimulate the vitality of market players, Wuhu City has formulated a number of policies and measures in the areas of talents, enterprises, and consumption to help the low-altitude economic development achieve a "stable opening and a good start" in 2024.

"Platform thinking", "market logic", "capital force" and "ecological concept", from technology to policy, from industry to talent, Wuhu City fully escorts the development of low-altitude economy and creates more possibilities.

Wuhu's space industry has broken the cocoon into a butterfly, and the low-altitude economy is ready for development. From the barren hills to the aviation city, after ten years of development, the low-altitude industry in Wuhu City has been moving towards the direction of "making, flying, wide application and excellent business form".

Empower independent innovation

After more than ten years of development, Wuhu City has initially formed a distinctive, autonomous and controllable aviation industry chain with intelligent manufacturing as the core, covering aviation new materials, navigable machines, satellites, drones, engines, propellers, general avionics, accessories of the Ministry of Aviation, airport economy, low altitude operation, etc. Low-altitude economy has gradually become an important engine of economic growth in Wuhu.

Tackling key core technologies is the key to innovation and development. Wuhu City has built a "government-industry-university-research fund" innovation and entrepreneurship community, established strategic cooperative relations with the Institute, built 64 provincial and above innovation platforms such as the national and local Joint Center for the research and development and integrated application of light general aircraft, driven the integrated development of 32 high-tech enterprises by the construction of national science and technology enterprise incubators, and enterprises in the park have overcome 24 "bottleneck" technologies. Won 20 domestic first. In July 2023, China's first general aviation engine AEC2.0L, which fully owns independent intellectual property rights, was officially approved; In January 2024, the XF2-T propeller obtained the first domestic navigable propeller type certificate (TC certificate), marking a solid step forward in the process of China's "localization of propellers" industry. Domestic general aviation aircraft ushered in the "China heart" and "China paddle", Wuhu aviation industry machine key core components independent allocation rate of 100%. "Made in China, made in Wuhu" has become a reality.

Innovative application scenarios are the key for low-altitude economy to become a new track for industrial development. The application scenarios of low-altitude economy cover many industries such as general aviation manufacturing, logistics, tourism, and agriculture. On December 8, 2023, Wuhu Aviation Industry Park officially opened two aviation logistics drone delivery routes, and further explored new application scenarios of drones through practice in areas such as short-haul transport takeout services to promote the high-quality development of the drone industry. On January 1, 2024, the "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft" was officially implemented, marking that China's UAV industry has entered a new stage of standardized development. Using the self-developed control system, through the "Beidou +4G/5G" dual positioning navigation, from the General Aviation Innovation Park to Anhui College of Information Engineering, the drone successfully delivered takeout, only 5 minutes, solving the "last kilometer" distribution problem.

"The focus of the drone industry is service rather than manufacturing, drones can serve the primary industry, can also serve the secondary industry, but also the service industry itself, it is a cross-industry service." Wuhu should further effectively expand the application scenarios of drones to accelerate the arrival of a 'busier day' in the sky." Said Fan Bangkui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. "Air taxi" to create a new way of urban transportation, the future drone and other general aviation industry is expected to become a new infrastructure of smart cities, a new engine of digital economy, open the development of low-altitude economy in the first year is now.

Create energy in the whole industrial chain

Industrial agglomeration is another important point of low-altitude economic development in Wuhu City. The Wuhu Municipal government encourages and supports enterprises to participate in the R&D and manufacturing of general aircraft, aviation logistics operation, UAV application and other fields, and attracts more upstream and downstream enterprises of the industrial chain to settle in Wuhu through policy guidance and financial support, and promotes the coordinated development of the whole industrial chain such as R&D and manufacturing, operation management, service consumption, and talent training.

"Wuhu aviation industry chain upstream and downstream enterprises layout is very complete, Wuhu aviation industrial Park after 10 years of development, the growth rate is obvious." In addition to the joint head UAV enterprises, Wuhu also has UAV fixed wing enterprises, engine manufacturing enterprises, composite materials enterprises, engine maintenance enterprises. You know, the aviation industry can not be done by a single company, it must rely on a good industrial ecology, and Wuhu obviously has this condition." Yan Huaiqiang, vice president of United Aircraft Group and general manager of Wuhu United Aircraft, said.

Wuhu has successfully held two low-altitude economic development conferences, achieved a series of results in deepening cooperation in industries and key areas, and signed a number of low-altitude economic projects. It is understood that in the past three years, Wuhu has introduced 117 aviation industry projects, with a total investment of 577.759 billion yuan, and the complete industrial chain covers nearly 200 upstream and downstream enterprises, and the industrial linkage effect is obvious. Industrial development is led by high-end aviation R&D and manufacturing and aviation service operation guarantee, supported by aviation science and education innovation and aviation cultural and travel services, forming a spatial layout of "two zones and One Belt". We will continue to improve the layout of emerging aviation industry clusters and low-altitude economic new areas, and strive to build an aviation ecosystem led by high-end aerospace R&D and manufacturing.

On October 7, 2023, the Action Plan for High-quality Development of Low-altitude Economy in Wuhu City (2023-2025) was officially issued, providing policy guidance for the integrated development of low-altitude economy and social economy, and enhancing the driving force for high-quality development. The plan proposes that by 2025, the number of low-altitude economy-related enterprises will exceed 300, including more than 10 leading enterprises, the number of specialized and special new enterprises and high-tech enterprises will double, and the output value of low-altitude industries will reach 50 billion yuan. From the overall goal, key tasks, and safeguard measures, the program puts forward the development goals of low-altitude economy, clarifies the key tasks of low-altitude industry development, and implements safeguard measures.

In order to build a talent platform to enhance the degree of agglomeration, Wuhu focuses on the "talent for aviation New City" to achieve the training of leading talents and Class C talents. Relying on Zhonggong Wuhu Aviation Institute to explore and build a city-wide industry and education consortium, take advantage of the exhibition and forum, push deeper and make China civil aviation science education base, and play the multiplier effect of "Wuhu Aviation" brand. Wuhu is striving to build an aviation industry cluster with important influence in the country.

In Wuhu, the scale of strategic emerging industries such as low-altitude economy continues to develop rapidly. According to statistics, in 2023, the output value of strategic emerging industries in Wuhu City increased by 16.7%, 4.5 percentage points faster than the average growth rate of the province, and the output value accounted for 47.5% of the industrial proportion in the regulation, ranking second in the province.

Wuhu City has been selected as the first batch of 26 general aviation industry comprehensive demonstration zones in China, as a model of low-altitude economic development in China, Wuhu low-altitude economic development planning reflects forward-looking and innovative, inject new vitality for urban development, and provide experience for other regions. With the gradual advancement of low-altitude economy, Wuhu is expected to become an important hub connecting ground traffic and air traffic in the future, bringing revolutionary changes to people's way of life.

(Reporter Wu Huijun)