National People's Congress Deputy Li Liangbin: Suggests Accelerating the Research, Development, and Commercialization of High-Power Aircraft Power Batteries

Southern Finance National Two Sessions Report Team Weng Runtao Intern Hu Jianming

In 2026, during the National Two Sessions, Li Liangbin, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association, and Chairman of Ganfeng Lithium, proposed a suggestion titled “Accelerating the Research, Development, and Commercialization of Aircraft Power Batteries.”

(Deputy to the National People’s Congress, Vice Chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association, and Chairman of Ganfeng Lithium.)

As the low-altitude economy becomes a new arena for global technological and industrial competition, the commercialization of equipment such as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and large drones is accelerating. As the core power source, aircraft power batteries are becoming a key variable in determining the industry’s development ceiling.

“The low-altitude flight market is at a critical window from technological research and development to industrialization. Breakthroughs in power battery performance are directly related to the safety and stability of the low-altitude economic industry chain,” Li Liangbin said. He recommends efforts in top-level design, technological breakthroughs, standard development, and other areas to promote the autonomous, controllable, safe, and stable development of the low-altitude economy industry chain.

Challenges Facing Aircraft Power Battery Development

According to industry forecasts, China’s low-altitude economy market could reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. As the core power source for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), large drones, and other low-altitude aircraft, the performance of power batteries directly influences the pace of industrialization.

Unlike ground-based new energy vehicles, low-altitude aircraft require continuous high thrust during takeoff, landing, and hovering, and demand strict standards for lightweight design and low energy consumption. This makes their power batteries’ energy density, discharge rate, and reliability standards far surpass those of electric vehicles. Traditional power batteries are no longer suitable for future large-scale, economical operations.

“Aircraft power systems demand far higher standards for energy density, discharge rate, and reliability than ground vehicles,” Li Liangbin believes. Although Ganfeng Lithium’s solid-state batteries have completed phased manned aircraft reviews with authorities in 2025, the overall industry still faces multiple development bottlenecks that restrict commercialization.

Performance upgrade pressure is the primary challenge. Currently, leading commercial eVTOL cells have achieved energy densities exceeding 300Wh/kg, sufficient for initial demonstration applications. However, to achieve routine urban air mobility, energy density needs to reach 400-500Wh/kg or higher.

Additionally, extreme operating conditions such as thunderstorms and high-altitude low temperatures pose higher requirements for battery wide-temperature adaptability, safety, and stability. Existing battery standards cannot fully cover these demanding aviation scenarios.

The lack of industry standards further complicates development.

Although some companies have achieved technological breakthroughs and passed phased reviews, the industry still lacks complete specialized design specifications, testing methods, and fault diagnosis standards, leading to dispersed R&D directions and high costs for research, development, and commercialization.

Furthermore, as the industry is in its early stages, the R&D, production, and application chains are not tightly integrated. High initial R&D investments, the absence of scale effects, immature typical applications like urban air mobility, and constraints on technological iteration and supply chain cost optimization all hinder progress.

Recommendations to Accelerate R&D and Commercialization

Based on industry practices and development pain points, Li Liangbin suggests establishing a comprehensive development system covering “top-level design - technological breakthroughs - standard development - ecological support - supply chain support,” encouraging the development of high-energy, high-power aircraft batteries, and accelerating the R&D and commercialization of series products.

In top-level design, he recommends led by government departments to formulate a “Long-term Development Plan for Power Batteries in Low-Altitude Flight Applications,” clarifying the technical development path, industry incubation goals, and commercialization roadmap, aligning with national and regional low-altitude economy development plans, and launching pilot scenarios for early testing.

For technological R&D, he advocates establishing a national major science and technology project titled “Advanced Power Systems for Low-Altitude Aircraft,” gathering enterprises, universities, and research institutes to jointly tackle core performance issues such as high energy density, ultra-high power, and wide-temperature operation under extreme aviation conditions, improving R&D efficiency.

Regarding standards, he suggests encouraging industry associations, leading enterprises, and relevant government departments to collaborate on developing industry standards and national standards for aircraft-specific batteries, covering performance, safety, testing methods, and recycling requirements for cells, modules, and systems. Standards should be dynamically aligned with international standards to facilitate global market access.

For industrial ecology, he recommends increasing support through fiscal, tax, financial, and talent policies—providing R&D funding, subsidies, and tax incentives to related R&D and manufacturing companies; establishing a low-altitude economy industry investment fund to attract social capital; supporting universities in establishing interdisciplinary programs such as “Aviation + New Energy + Materials,” and vocational colleges offering related majors, to build a talent pipeline.

In supply chain support, due to the high energy and power demands of aircraft batteries, raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, lithium, and germanium may be involved. Currently, lithium carbonate futures have operated for nearly three years, effectively stabilizing lithium resource prices. To ensure raw material supply and maintain price stability, it is recommended to support companies in utilizing futures markets and to promote the opening of related product futures to international markets.

Data from the Guangzhou Futures Exchange shows that the average daily trading volume of lithium carbonate futures and options is 867,000 lots, with market scale steadily expanding. The exchange’s lithium carbonate futures account for over 90% of the global lithium salt futures market, becoming the most liquid and industry-relevant lithium futures product worldwide. Futures prices are gradually becoming important benchmarks for domestic long-term contracts and spot trading, and are beginning to be adopted by resource companies in Brazil, Zimbabwe, and other resource-rich countries.

Li Liangbin stated that the low-altitude flight market is at a critical window from technological R&D to industrialization. Continually improving aircraft power battery performance is of strategic importance for ensuring the industry chain’s independence, controllability, safety, and stability.