CATL has signed strategic and product agreements with Hangzhou-based Blue Vector Intelligent Technology to serve as the exclusive battery partner for its commercial passenger aircraft.

Announced by the battery maker on Monday, the tie-up focuses on the Skyla V30, an all-electric tiltrotor model that has secured more than 100 pre-sales orders since its global debut in July.

Under the agreement, CATL will develop custom aviation batteries for the six-seat aircraft. The companies did not disclose financial terms, battery specifications or a delivery schedule.

Engineering work on the airframe is already moving beyond initial digital design. Blue Vector rolled out its first full-scale technology demonstrator, designated A/C01, on August 31 in Harbin in northeastern China.

The demonstrator airframe has entered a testing sequence covering systems integration, ground trials and tilt-transition flights. Those trials will test the transition between vertical lift and horizontal forward flight, which forms the core technical challenge for tiltrotor electric craft designed for intercity transit.

Commercial demand is building ahead of type certification. Blue Vector booked pre-sales commitments for 60 V30 aircraft at the Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou on September 24.

Singapore-based aviation operator Moon Aero accounted for 30 of those aircraft, representing the platform’s first overseas pre-sales customer. That booking brought total advance orders past 100 units as the company conducts airworthiness validation with Chinese civil aviation regulators.

Development work relies on fresh venture backing secured over the past two quarters. 9 million) on June 30, led jointly by Shenzhen Capital Group and an unnamed industrial dollar fund.

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