Original Title: Notice from the General Office of the Hefei Municipal People’s Government on Issuing Several Policies to Support the Development of the Low-Altitude Economy in Hefei

To seize the strategic opportunities presented by the intensive innovation and rapid growth of the low-altitude economy, we will focus on ensuring security in both air and ground domains, build a headquarters cluster and an industrial pilot zone for the low-altitude economy, and establish a world-class all-domain unmanned system; we will focus on comprehensive scenario demonstrations to achieve full coverage of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for passenger transport, cargo logistics, and public governance;focusing on full-chain industrial clustering to preliminarily establish a comprehensive low-altitude economy industrial chain covering complete aircraft, components, aftermarket services, and inspection and testing; and focusing on infrastructure construction to build facilities that effectively support low-altitude flight—including takeoff and landing sites, support services, air routes, flight services, and control platforms—while establishing a set of industry, national, and international standards; replicating and promoting the “Hefei Model” to essentially build a “City of Low-Altitude Economy” with international influence; these policies are hereby formulated.

I. Support the Introduction of Leading Low-Altitude Economy Enterprises and Institutions. Provide support to newly established enterprises in areas such as office space, land use, energy consumption, and service support. For testing and inspection institutions serving the development of low-altitude economy enterprises—such as airworthiness certification testing centers and UAV product quality testing centers—grant a subsidy of up to 5 million yuan, equivalent to 20% of their annual investment.[Responsible Units: Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau; People’s Governments of all counties (cities) and districts; Management Committees of Development Zones]

II. Support for Strengthening Low-Altitude Economy Enterprises and Institutions. Enterprises newly designated as “Lighthouse Factories,” national single-champions, national “Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative” (SRUI) “Little Giants,” or provincial SRUI champions will be awarded up to 3 million yuan, 1.5 million yuan, and 1 million yuan, respectively, based on 50% of the portion by which their annual economic indicators exceed the citywide average growth rate.Newly introduced low-altitude economy R&D institutions will receive annual funding support of up to 20 million yuan, with a cumulative total not exceeding 100 million yuan.Low-altitude economy enterprises operating in the city that have obtained Type Certificates (TC), Production Certificates (PC), and Operational Certificates (OC) issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) will receive funding, with 15 million yuan for manned eVTOLs, 5 million yuan for large unmanned aerial vehicles, and 3 million yuan for medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicles. The maximum subsidy per enterprise is 30 million yuan, and funding is provided only once per model.Utilize various tools such as credit, bonds, financing guarantees, and industrial funds to guide state-owned and social capital toward greater investment in the low-altitude economy, and support the cultivation and development of enterprises in the sector, including “Little Giants” (specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises), manufacturing single-champions, and hidden champions. Provide support to talent in the low-altitude economy industry regarding applications for national, provincial, and municipal talent policies, as well as the implementation of benefits and safeguards.(Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Municipal Party Committee Financial Affairs Office, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Municipal Party Committee Organization Department)

III. Support R&D and Commercialization of Key Low-Altitude Economy Technologies. Support enterprises, universities, and research institutes in strengthening R&D and application of key technologies such as aerospace materials, batteries, navigation, flight control, propulsion, and components. For operators of test flight sites providing services such as test flights, testing, and validation, a subsidy of 100 yuan per test flight session will be provided, with a maximum of 1 million yuan per enterprise per year.Support innovation in low-altitude economy application scenarios by compiling and publishing the *Hefei Low-Altitude Economy Scenario Catalog*. Support eligible new technologies, products, and business models in the low-altitude economy, as well as the first units of major equipment, first batches of materials, and first versions of software, by including them in Hefei’s “Three New” and “Three Firsts” catalogs. (Responsible Units: Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology)

IV. Support the Launch of Commercial, Regular Flight Routes. Support enterprises in launching passenger eVTOL and drone logistics delivery routes.

(1) Enterprises that establish manned eVTOL routes approved by civil aviation authorities will receive subsidies based on route category, with the subsidy amount not exceeding 50% of the enterprise’s actual operating expenses from the previous year. Specifically: 100 yuan per person per flight for sightseeing and tourism routes, and 200 yuan per person per flight for intra-city transportation routes.The maximum annual subsidy per enterprise is 6 million yuan. [Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, Municipal Transportation Bureau, Hefei Binhu Science City Management Committee, People’s Governments of all counties (cities) and districts, and Management Committees of Development Zones]

(2) For enterprises operating drone logistics delivery routes approved by civil aviation authorities: Micro, light, and small drones (takeoff weight not exceeding 25 kg) with more than 500 flight missions per year will receive a subsidy of 30 yuan per flight; medium-sized drones (takeoff weight not exceeding 150 kg) with more than 300 flight missions per year will receive a subsidy of 50 yuan per flight;For large drones (takeoff weight exceeding 150 kg) with more than 100 flight missions per year, a subsidy of 100 yuan per flight will be provided. The maximum annual subsidy per enterprise is 10 million yuan. [Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Commerce Bureau, Municipal Postal Administration, People’s Governments of all counties (cities) and districts, and Development Zone Management Committees]

V. Support for the Development of “Drone+” Demonstration Scenarios. Support enterprises in developing demonstration projects that integrate drones with other modes of transportation, such as autonomous vehicles and unmanned vessels, and recommend these projects for application as municipal, provincial, and national-level application demonstration scenarios.Support enterprises in exploring new business models and formats related to the low-altitude economy, providing assistance in scenario access and promotional activities to accelerate the commercialization process. A one-time reward of 300,000 yuan will be granted to low-altitude flight camps certified by the General Administration of Sport of China’s Aeronautics Management Center and the Chinese Air Sports Association. (Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Sports Bureau, Hefei Binhu Science City Management Committee)

VI. Support the Expansion of Public Governance Service Scenarios. Support the expansion of drone applications in public governance service scenarios such as traffic management, emergency rescue, forest fire prevention, disaster relief and mitigation, flood monitoring, urban flood control, urban firefighting, urban public security, blood transport, land surveying, power line inspection, water resource monitoring, and environmental monitoring, to promote the large-scale, intensive, and market-oriented use of low-altitude products and services.(Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Public Security Bureau, Municipal Emergency Management Bureau, Municipal Fire and Rescue Detachment, Municipal Urban Management Bureau, Municipal Health Commission, Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Municipal Water Affairs Bureau, Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, Municipal Forestry and Landscape Bureau, Municipal Bureau of Data Resources, Hefei Power Supply Company)

VII. Support the Construction of Low-Altitude Economy Infrastructure. Support the construction of ground infrastructure such as eVTOL and UAV takeoff and landing sites, smart takeoff and landing cabinets, and charging and battery-swapping stations; support facilities for communications, navigation, surveillance, meteorology, electromagnetic systems, and countermeasures; as well as facilities for test flight verification sites. For infrastructure constructed through social investment that is completed and actually operational, a subsidy of up to 15% of the actual construction investment (with different subsidy ratios based on infrastructure type) will be provided,with a maximum of 5 million yuan per enterprise per year. [Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Transportation Bureau, Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Municipal Public Security Bureau, People’s Governments of all counties (cities) and districts, and Management Committees of Development Zones]

VIII. Support the Development of Low-Altitude Economy System Platforms. Support enterprises, universities, research institutes, and scientific research units in participating in the construction of the Luogang Park Full-Space Unmanned System Control and Data Platform and the Hefei City Unified Low-Altitude Flight Dispatch and Control Service Platform. Encourage enterprises to build “One Network for Unified Flight” system platforms. In accordance with laws and regulations, prioritize support for project approval and financing for low-altitude economy system platforms.(Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Hefei Binhu Science City Management Committee, Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Municipal Bureau of Data Resources, Municipal Bureau of Urban and Rural Construction, Municipal Public Security Bureau, Municipal Party Committee Financial Affairs Office, Municipal Finance Bureau)

IX. Support the Development of Low-Altitude Economy Standards and Specifications. Support enterprises, institutions, associations, and research organizations in taking the lead in formulating or revising international, national, industry, and local standards, and provide awards and subsidies in accordance with relevant policy provisions. (Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Market Regulation Bureau)

X. Support the creation of an ecosystem for low-altitude economic development. Support enterprises, institutions, associations, universities, research institutes, and scientific research units in the low-altitude economy sector to host international, national, and specialized low-altitude economy industry exhibitions, consumer expos, and other events in Hefei. Provide subsidies for exhibitions held in specialized venues across the city in accordance with relevant policies. Support enterprises in establishing low-altitude economy industry alliances and trade associations to build bridges and links between the government, enterprises, and the market.Strengthen the promotion and popularization of knowledge regarding the low-altitude economy to enhance public awareness and acceptance of it. (Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Commerce Bureau)

XI. Relevant Provisions

(1) The Municipal Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall be responsible for interpreting this policy and shall formulate separate implementation rules. Provisions citing existing policies shall be implemented in accordance with the original policies and their implementation rules. Policy funding is subject to total volume control and shall not be duplicated with other municipal-level policies.

(2) County (city) and district governments, as well as development zone management committees, are encouraged to introduce complementary policies for the low-altitude economy. Projects that meet the relevant criteria outlined in the Hefei Municipal Guidelines for the Identification of Major Investment Projects may apply for policy support under the major investment project program.

(3) For the purposes of this policy, “low-altitude economy enterprises” refer to enterprises with independent legal person status whose primary business involves general aviation, the research, development, and manufacturing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as low-altitude flight operations and support services. The definitions of “micro,” “light,” “small,” “medium,” and “large” UAVs are consistent with those set forth in the “Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flights” issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

(4) This policy shall take effect from the date of issuance and remain valid for one year. During the implementation of this policy, should new regulations be issued by national, provincial, or municipal authorities, such regulations shall prevail.