Magnetics Business & Technology - November/December 2023 - 26

INDUSTRY NEWS
Lilium Raises $292 Million for Breakthrough eVTOL Jet Powered by Innovative Electric
Motors
Single-stage rotor-stator system is core technology driving the permanent-magnet motors for breakthrough eVTOL jet
Lilium NV, developer of the first all-electric vertical take-off
and landing jet, announced that it has successfully arranged a
capital raise for a total amount of $192 million, bringing its total
raise for the year to nearly $300 million. Innovative electric motors
power the craft, and Swedish bearing manufacturer SKF is
one of the German aircraft company's key suppliers.
Core technology is Ducted Electric Vector Thrust
Alastair McIntosh, Lilium's chief technology officer joined the eVTOL
firm in December 2020 from his previous position as chief engineer
and managing director at Rolls-Royce Germany.
Heading toward first manned flight in 2024 with nearly $300
million raised this year
The proprietary technology at the core of the Lilium Jet is
Ducted Electric Vectored Thrust which the company has refined
through successive generations of aircraft demonstrators. Multiple
electric jet engines integrated into the wing flaps provide
advantages in payload, aerodynamic eficiency and a lower
noise profile while also providing thrust vector control to maneuver
the jet through every phase of flight.
Traditional jet engines
power 95% of commercial
aircraft and Lilium
has based its design on
the same principles, yet
far simpler, relying on
just a single " stage " rotor/stator
system driven
by a permanent-magnet
electric motor with zero
emissions. Built to aerospace standard, the highly efficient motors
are uniquely designed for their flight envelope.
Participants in the upsized round included leading German
technology investors Earlybird Venture Capital, BIT Capital,
UVC Partners and Frank Thelen, multiple institutional investors
led by B. Riley Securities and e-mobility investor E-vestment
B.V. Several Lilium Board members and senior executives also
participated. As previously announced, Aceville Pte. Limited,
an affiliate of Tencent Holdings Limited ( " Aceville " ), will fund an
additional $75 million to partially prepay against the total exercise
price of the warrants previously issued, with such funding
expected shortly.
This capital raise represents a significant step in securing Lilium
Jet's full funding for commercial launch. Together with the
$100 million funded in early May, this will bring the total raised
this year to $292 million. The capital raised will enable Lilium to
continue its development program at full pace, covering much
of the estimated capital required to achieve its first manned
flight of the type-conforming aircraft, which Lilium remains on
track to achieve in the second half of 2024. Thereafter, Lilium
expects to receive substantial pre-delivery payments (PDPs)
that will fund a significant portion of its future capital requirements,
including manufacturing of its type-conforming aircraft.
26 Magnetics Business & Technology * November/December 2023
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