Curiosidade do dia

O último número da revista The Economist traz um artigo muito interessante, "China's "low-altitude economy" is taking off":

"Delivery drones and flying cars are mainly science fiction in the rest of the world, although in some places they have advanced to the realm of prototypes and trials. Walmart, a pioneer, has made 150,000 deliveries by drone in America since 2021. In China, however, these technologies are becoming an everyday reality. The government is vigorously promoting them as part of its ambition to develop a "low altitude economy". By that it means a proliferation of airborne devices whizzing around at less than 1,000 metres (far lower than ordinary commercial planes), offering a dizzying array of services. The intention is to foster a futuristic industry for China to dominate by refining the approach that has already turned the country into an electric-vehicle (EV) juggernaut."

O artigo descreve o rápido desenvolvimento da chamada low-altitude economy na China, um sector emergente que inclui drones de entrega e carros voadores (eVTOLs), com apoio explícito do governo chinês. Esta economia opera abaixo dos 1.000 metros de altitude e está a crescer exponencialmente graças a políticas públicas, regulação flexível e sinergias com as indústrias de baterias e veículos eléctricos.

O governo chinês já criou estruturas para fomentar o sector, incluindo autorizações locais para abrir o espaço aéreo abaixo dos 600 metros, investimentos em infraestruturas (terminais, rotas, 5G), cursos universitários especializados e fundos públicos. Empresas como a Meituan e a EHang estão na vanguarda, já operando drones para entregas de refeições e oferecendo passeios turísticos em eVTOLs.

Apesar do entusiasmo, surgem dúvidas sobre a viabilidade económica de algumas aplicações, especialmente os carros voadores, e sobre o risco de excesso de investimento impulsionado mais pela política do que pelo mercado.

Interessante as sinergias entre diferentes indústrias e a postura das autoridades:

"First, flying cars and drones play to existing industrial strengths. China is the world's biggest manufacturer of both the batteries such aircraft need, and of electric vehicles, which involve lots of the same technology. "Why can our low altitude economy quickly generate strong explosive power? One very important reason is that we have accumulated a lot in the new energy industry, especially in cars, in the past few years," Qiao Dong of Yunhe Capital, an investment firm, argued at the conference in Beijing. Shenzhen, for instance, is home to both the D world's largest drone-maker, DJI, and the world's largest EV firm, BYD, along with lots of their suppliers.

What is more, despite the controlling nature of the Chinese state, regulators are nimble and accommodating. [Moi ici: Impressionante!!!] Bureaucrats from different cities now come to Meituan to suggest that it initiate a new delivery route, rather than the other way round, an employee notes. Rather than spending a long time drafting a systematic policy, officials have been drawing up rules as the industry develops. "You have to have a policy that can match whatever technical progress that is being made on the ground," Mr Mao says. Although this might involve less exacting safety standards than may be imposed in Western countries, Chinese consumers, at any rate, do not seem too worried.

...

As a result, Chinese firms can develop products faster than their counterparts elsewhere. EHang was founded five years after Joby, one of America's leading eVTOL companies. "We can iterate faster by leveraging the strengths of the manufacturing industry, and we can also accumulate relevant experience faster through actual flights in China," says Mr Hu. Robin Riedel of McKinsey notes that, whereas Western firms in the industry consider their products superior in quality, Chinese firms view themselves as faster to commercialise: "There's a little bit more willingness to experiment in China versus in North America and in Europe.""