Germany-based electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Lilium has raised $119 million in capital from its existing shareholders, new investors and strategic partners. Companies participating in the capital raise included Honeywell, Aciturri, LGT, Tencent and B. Riley Securities. Lilium stated that it plans to use the money to continue to fund its operations, develop the Lilium Jet and for general corporate purposes.
“We are pleased to have such a high-quality group of supporters in a challenging macro environment,” said Lilium CEO Klaus Roewe. “These proceeds are expected to strengthen our balance sheet and advance our commercialization efforts including signing of customer agreements with pre-delivery payments, reaching an agreement with EASA on our Means of Compliance, and commencing assembly of the type-conforming aircraft for the final manned flight test campaign.”
Lilium began flight testing in 2017 with a two-seat eVTOL prototype and got a five-seat model in the air in 2019. The seven-seat Lilium Jet, for which the company has received a CRI-A01 certification basis from EASA, was introduced in 2021. Designed for regional air taxi and freight services, the seven-seat Lilium Jet is expected to have a top speed of up to 300 km/h (162 knots) and be capable of routes between 40 and 200 km (22-108 NM) at launch.
