Booming Low-Altitude Economy: Which Advanced Plastics Are In High Demand? (Ⅰ)

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Booming Low-Altitude Economy: Which Advanced Plastics Are in High Demand? (Ⅰ) 2025-04-11

The Low-Altitude Economy is Exploding.

Drones, once considered high-end toys, are now shining in various industries, such as pesticide spraying, terrain surveying, urban food delivery, and disaster relief...

In addition, it is constantly expanding.

It is foreseeable that the application scenarios of the low-altitude economy will experience explosive innovation in the near future.

From a material perspective, it is clear that relying on a single base material for all applications is unrealistic.

So, let's take a look at the latest "Low-Altitude Economy Scenarios White Paper" published by the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. We will explore how base material choices differ in various low-altitude scenarios and which materials are set to make a big impact in the low-altitude economy.

Metal vs. Plastic: Which is better?

Taking drones and eVTOLs as examples—whether they're used for transporting people or goods, in logistics, tourism, or agriculture—materials used in low-altitude aircraft must meet the following key physical property requirements:

Lightweight: Low density and mass to improve payload capacity and flight endurance.

Mechanical Performance: High stiffness, strength, and impact resistance to withstand flight stress and vibration.

Weather Resistance: UV resistance, wide temperature tolerance (-40°C to 80°C), and resistance to humidity.

Corrosion Resistance: Resistance to oil and salt spray corrosion.

Processability: Good flowability for easy manufacturing and assembly.

Flame Retardancy: Compliance with UL94 V-0 or V-2 standards (especially important for passenger or logistics drones).

Cost-Effectiveness: Overall material and production costs should be controllable (with more flexibility allowed in high-end applications).

It’s widely known that, beyond strict performance requirements, lightweighting has become a competitive target across all industries—and this is especially true for aircraft.

In the early stages of the low-altitude sector, high-strength, high-hardness metals dominated as the go-to materials.
For instance, aluminum alloys are considered the “lightweight champions” of the metal world, with a density of just 2.7 g/cm³—30% to 50% lighter than steel. They offer good corrosion resistance and long-term durability after surface treatment, along with decent processability and moderate cost.
Another example is titanium alloys, often hailed as the “performance beasts” of materials. With tensile strength exceeding 1200 MPa, they retain excellent performance even at high temperatures and can withstand harsh conditions like acid, alkali, and salt spray.

However, metal materials come with well-known downsides—first and foremost, cost. Titanium alloys, for example, are expensive and difficult to process, which drives up production costs.
Then there’s the weight issue. The heavy nature of metal components reduces flight range and agility, making it harder for aircraft to maneuver efficiently in complex low-altitude environments.

In today’s age of efficiency and lightweighting, these once-reliable materials are starting to fall behind.
So, could plastics, with their inherent advantages of low density and light weight, be up to the task?

Let’s not jump to conclusions—based on the required material properties, we’ve reviewed the mainstream plastic base materials on the market and found:

We know that the diversity of the low-altitude economy means that various aircraft operate in different flight scenarios. As a result, the required material properties will vary depending on the specific application.

So, in the next article, we'll take a closer look at material selection solutions tailored to different scenarios.