The future of the Lilium Jet looks uncertain, as the company files for self-administered bankruptcy, looking for new investors or a buyer.
Several companies worldwide are developing battery-electric eVTOL aircraft. The Lilium Jet is probably the one with the most distinctive appearance, thanks to its rows of vectored ducted fans. A total of 36 of these motors have the role of lifting and propelling the aircraft, along with its single pilot and up to six passengers.
Lilium announced that it powered on its first production-spec eVTOL earlier this month. Testing of the aircraft’s electrical system took place in a full-size test rig back in August. Previously, the plan was that the aircraft’s first flight would take place in 2024.
Now, the company has scheduled the inaugural flight of the first production Lilium Jet in 2025. At this time, it isn’t clear how long its certification will take. Unfortunately, new information about the company’s finances casts new doubt over the aircraft’s development and certification.
According to Aviation Week, Lilium has debts that are due to be paid in the coming days, but it is presently unable to do so. As a response, the company’s management will “file for insolvency under German law and in doing so will apply for self-administration proceedings in Germany”.
Lilium Jet And Self-Administration
In such a process, an external administrator will supervise the company, looking for investors or buyers. The administrator could also decide to sell off company assets. This development is a relatively new problem for the Lilium Jet.
In previous years, both Lilium and Volocopter (also based in Germany) got substantial financial support and loan guarantees from both the federal government in Germany and State governments.
Private investors have already contributed €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) to the development of the Lilium Jet. They could invest more to continue supporting the project, but Lilium must first demonstrate that it still has government backing. Currently, it isn’t clear if this will happen.
It is worth pointing out that at the moment, aside from some motor gliders, there is still only one type-certified electric aircraft: the Pipistrel Velis Electro, a two-seat fixed-wing design.
The number of battery-electric aircraft in development, both for fixed-wing designs and eVTOLs like the Lilium Jet, seems to be decreasing. Some fixed-wing designs shifted to a hybrid-electric architecture, while other projects, including the Tecnam P-Volt and NASA’s X-57 Maxwell, are on hold.
The challenges to many of these projects aren’t just technological. Some criticism towards the Lilium Jet and other such projects involved the inexperience of development teams with certification requirements. In some cases, this made development and service-entry projections unrealistic.
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