CATL Signs Deals to Supply Exclusive Custom Batteries for Blue Vector's Skyla V30 eVTOL
Why It MattersBattery makers are tying themselves to individual eVTOL programmes through exclusive, custom-cell agreements, making power-system supply a lever in how Chinese advanced air mobility developers line up their supply chains.
CATL (HKEX: 3750) has signed strategic and product cooperation agreements with Blue Vector Intelligent Technology, a Hangzhou, Zhejiang province-based eVTOL aircraft maker, to develop aviation batteries. Blue Vector selected CATL as its exclusive battery partner, the battery maker said in a statement on Monday. The partnership focuses on the Skyla V30, a product of Skyla Aviation, Blue Vector's eVTOL business, for which CATL will develop custom batteries. The statement did not disclose the deal's value, battery specifications or a supply timeline.
The Skyla V30 is a 6-seat, all-electric tiltrotor aircraft designed for intercity passenger travel. Its first full-scale technology demonstrator, A/C01, rolled out on August 31 in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, and is to undergo systems integration, ground testing and tilt-transition flight tests. On September 24, Blue Vector said it had signed pre-sales orders for 60 V30 aircraft during the Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, including 30 from Singapore-based operator Moon Aero, the model's first overseas pre-sales orders.
On June 30, Blue Vector announced a funding round exceeding 100 million yuan ($14.9 million), jointly led by Shenzhen Capital Group and an unnamed industry-backed US dollar fund. Its eVTOL business had completed 5 funding rounds in nearly 6 months, raising more than 400 million yuan in total. CATL previously signed a deal with Shanghai-based Autoflight in August 2024 to invest in the company and jointly develop eVTOL batteries; in November 2025, Autoflight unveiled a floating vertiport developed with CATL.
