eVTOL fuels the rapid ascent of the “Low-Altitude Economy”
Research indicates that China’s eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) industry had already reached a market size of 980 million in 2023. By 2026, its market size is expected to reach 9.5 billion. This rapid growth is primarily driven by technological innovations in the field, the increasing demand for urban air mobility (UAM), and the advancement of environmental policies. In the future, eVTOL equipment will mainly be used for intercity rapid commuting, highly efficient and flexible logistics distribution, and emergency response public services.
New Requirements for eVTOL Internal Components and Control Management Systems
Integral to next-generation low-altitude urban transportation, eVTOLs are akin to flying cabins or automobiles. Since eVTOLs must complete each flight mission with highly reliable precision and efficiency, the performance of internal components such as batteries, motors and electronic controls, as well as the capabilities of flight control and flight management systems, are critical.
In terms of battery performance and management, the energy density of the power battery determines the eVTOL’s range and effective payload capacity. In addition, the battery must be able to withstand high discharge rates. Given these high demands on battery performance, the corresponding battery management system (BMS) is also crucial. By optimizing the BMS, real-time monitoring of battery conditions – including parameters such as voltage, current, and temperature – can be achieved. This in turn enables smart management and control to ensure that the battery operates within a safe range, preventing overcharging, over-discharging and overheating.
The motor is a key component of the eVTOL electric propulsion system. The electrical energy from a power battery or fuel cell drives ducted fans or rotors through the motor, and the motor’s power density directly affects the effective payload capacity of the flying vehicle. In addition, its ability to deliver power output under a wide range of variable operating conditions, along with reliability and environmental adaptability, plays a key role in determining eVTOL’s propulsion characteristics and safety. Given eVTOLs’ demanding requirements for motor efficiency and torque density, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) are a highly promising solution for electric propulsion systems. Compared to DC motors and induction motors, PMSMs offer several advantages such as higher power density, a wider speed control range, and greater electromagnetic torque. Moreover, their ability to maintain full torque makes them particularly suitable for meeting eVTOL’s power demands during takeoff and landing.
eVTOL motor controllers are primarily used to regulate the speed and torque of the propulsion motor. In turn, the motor’s response accuracy directly affects the precision of thrust control for the aircraft. Many existing aircraft use silicon-based power converters, which have low junction temperatures and struggle to significantly reduce conduction losses and switching losses. Hence they are unsuitable for the high-speed and high-frequency development trends in aircraft motor systems. In contrast, silicon carbide (SiC) devices offer high operating temperatures, high switching frequencies, low conduction losses, excellent thermal conductivity and superior reliability. They significantly enhance eVTOL motor system efficiency and power density while simplifying thermal management and cooling systems.
In addition to technological advancements in power electronics and electrical power systems, eVTOLs also need to achieve the digitalization and smart development of low-altitude transportation. A core subsystem of eVTOLs, the flight control system can be considered the “brain” of the aircraft. It provides perception, control, and decision-making capabilities, encompassing modeling algorithms, software, hardware, mechatronics technologies, network communication and navigation systems. In the future, integrated designs for flight control and flight management systems will become increasingly popular, with autonomous and automated flight set to become essential features of eVTOLs. No doubt eVTOLs will also leverage high-performance sensor technology and communication networks with high-bandwidth data transmission capabilities to achieve multi-source information fusion, enabling enhanced comprehensive situational awareness and flight decision-making capabilities.
Avnet’s Innovative Products and Solutions Meet the Needs of eVTOL Applications
As a leading technology distributor and solutions provider, Avnet offers diversified products and solutions for eVTOL application fields. For eVTOL applications related to battery, motor, and electronic control technologies, Avnet provides SiC MOSFET solutions for main drive inverter power modules. These innovative solutions meet eVTOL aircraft’s needs for efficient, high-power-density, and high-temperature-resistant electric propulsion systems. Its BMS-related solutions can further optimize battery performance for eVTOL equipment, ensuring the safety and stability of battery packs during operation. Its power motor drive solutions are designed to enable rapid evaluation of SiC/IGBT modules, gate drivers, and microcontrollers, facilitating the propulsion motor drive for eVTOL aircraft. And last but not least, its motor control solutions employ FOC vector algorithms to enable high-performance motor control for eVTOL aircraft.
To meet the digitalization and smart development needs of eVTOLs, Avnet offers deliverable product combinations at different levels. These include solutions featuring NXP’s 77 GHz radar modules and onsemi’s image sensor modules, as well as driver monitoring systems (DMS), smart cockpits, and gateway controllers based on the NXP platform. Avnet has also introduced the ADRS1000™ industrial-grade wireless communication module, which offers low power consumption, high performance, and cost-effectiveness. The module fully meets eVTOL’s communication requirements for flight control, data transmission, and remote monitoring, enabling efficient and stable communication between aircraft, ground control centers, and other flying vehicles.
As a key driver of the low-altitude economy, eVTOL aircraft are giving rise to rapid development opportunities. With the diversification of application scenarios and collaborative evolution of the industry chain, eVTOL technology and the low-altitude economy will go further, faster and more safely than ever before.
