Lilium GmbH
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq:LILM | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , Germany |
Key people | Klaus Roewe (CEO) Giancarlo Moreira (Chair of the Board)[1] |
| Products | VTOLaircraft |
Number of employees | 950 (2024)[2] |
| Website | lilium |
Lilium N.V.is a German aerospace company which is the developer of theLilium Jet,an electrically poweredpersonal air vehiclecapable ofVTOLflight.
History
[edit]Lilium GmbH was founded in 2015 by fourengineersandPhD studentsat theTechnical University of Munich,Daniel Wiegand, Sebastian Born, Matthias Meiner and Patrick Nathen, and named after the aviation pioneerOtto Lilienthal.[3][4]
The Lilium Eagle, anunmannedtwo-seatproof of conceptmodel, performed itsmaiden flightat the airfieldMindelheim-Mattsies nearMunichinGermanyon 20 April 2017.[5]The Lilium Jet five-seater prototype Phoenix first flew in May 2019.[6][7]The prototype was powered by 36 electrically powered jacketed-propellers mounted in movable flaps that can point down forvertical takeoffand gradually moved to a horizontal position to provide forward thrust.[8]The five-seat Lilium Jet is capable of achieving a top speed of 300 km/h and targets a range of 300 km.[9]In 2017, Lilium announced plans to launch a 5-seat Lilium Jet by 2025, aimed for theair taxiservice market.[10]At the beginning of 2019, Lilium held discussions with Switzerland's national rail company SBB on the use of the air taxi as a means of transport between the station and the home and a letter of intent was signed.[11]In October 2019, Lilium released footage showing the Jet in full flight, taking off vertically and transitioning to horizontal flight.[12]Lilium also announced the completion of its first manufacturing facility in October 2019.[13]In November 2020, Lilium announced a partnership with the developer Tavistock Development Company to build a $25 millionvertiportinLake Nona,Orlando, Florida.[14]
As of 2018[update],the registered office of Lilium GmbH was inWeßling(Wessling) nearGilching[15]inBavaria,Germany.Lilium completed a new financing round of $90 million in September 2017.[16]From May 2018 to November 2019, the car designerFrank Stephensonwas chief designer for Lilium.[17]He previously worked forBMWand designed varioussports carbrands.Also in 2018, Arnd Mueller,[18]previously Chief BrandMarketingOfficer & GM Esprit Image GmbH-Member of the Executive Management Team, became VP Marketing of Lilium. He is to build the air taxi development company and its product into an international brand. In September 2018, Yann de Vries, formerly partner at Atomico, became the new VP of corporate development Lilium.[19]
In July 2019, Lilium announcedLondon, UKas its base to develop its software engineering team.[20]The engineering team is led by Carlos Morgado, former chief technology officer ofJust Eat.[21]Luca Benassi, a former Airbus executive with experience at Boeing and NASA, has been named Lilium's chief development engineer.[22]Yves Yemsi who worked as head of program quality for Airbus A350 aircraft has been hired as chief program officer.[23]Dirk Gebser has joined as vice president of production.[24]
In March 2020, Lilium raised $240 million in funding led byTencent,with participation of previous backers such asAtomico,Freigeist and LGT.[25]In January 2021 it was reported that Lilium was seeking to become a listed company via aspecial-purpose acquisition company(SPAC, also called a "blank check" company);[26]the company completed a SPAC merger in September 2021.[27]The company also confirmed it was redesigning its aircraft.[28] FormerAirbusCEO,Tom Enders,joined Lilium's board of directors in January 2021.[29]In early June 2022 it was announced that Klaus Roewe would become CEO of Lilium on August 1, replacing Daniel Wiegand.[30]
In late March 2021, Lilium announced a partnership with American aerospace supplierHoneywellduring theSPACIPOprocess. Honeywell is set to supply avionics components and also subscribe to shares in Lilium.[31]
In July 2021, according to research byWelt am Sonntag,it became known that the company had to correct its balance sheet.[32]After the recalculation, the startup loss for 2019 was no longer 42.8 million euros, but 75.4 million euros. A risk notice about the company's continuation was communicated. The merger with SPAC Qell took place in September 2021, and on September 15, Lilium N.V. was listed onNASDAQfor the first time.[33]
In August 2021 theBrazilianairlineAzulsigned a letter of intent for 220 Lilium Jet seven-seaters.[34]
At the time of theIPO,the company had significant losses and no significant revenue; the loss for the fiscal year 2020 totaled 188 million euros. Nevertheless, the company was valued at $2.4 billion (after the addition of approximately 430 million euros in liquidity). For the year 2021, a cash outflow of 217 million euros and remaining liquidity of 400 million euros were reported.[35]
In October 2022, the company reported a loss of 123.7 million euros for the first half of 2022. The total loss since the company's inception was estimated at 841 million euros. As of July 1, 2022, there was liquidity of approximately 230 million euros.[36]In November 2022, the company secured an additional $119 million in financing through a capital increase and simultaneously forecasted a further uncovered capital requirement of $540 million until the planned market entry in 2025.[37]
At the end of March 2023, the company reported a loss of 253 million euros for the fiscal year 2022.[38]In April 2023, the company informedHandelsblattthat there was a funding gap of 300 million euros until the first flight in the second half of 2024, and that the subsequent test phase for certification would last until 2026.[39]In May 2023, Lilium announced a capital increase of 227 million euros, with around $100 million reportedly coming from the Chinese internet giant Tencent. The company also stated that this sum would cover most of the costs until the first manned test flights. In July 2023, there was another capital increase of $192 million (approximately 171 million euros).[40]
At the end of February 2024, the company reported a loss of 263 million euros for the fiscal year 2023.[41]In March 2024,Wirtschaftswochereported that losses had accumulated to 1.359 billion euros.[42]
On 18 July 2024Saudia Groupand Lilium N.V. signed a binding sales agreement for 50Lilium Jets,with options for the purchase of 50 more.[43]
Controversy
[edit]In January 2020Aerokurierpublished a report which stated that Lilium might not achieve its aircraft performance goals, later backed up by four German aerospace academics who wrote that Lilium created clever PR tactics to attract investors.[44]Lilium countered the Aerokurier article by claiming that the experts underestimated their hover drive efficiency at 20 percent, while asserting that industry norms for turbofan levels typically fall between 85 and 95 percent efficiency.[44][45]
In February 2021,Forbespublished an article citing several former employees who claimed that Lilium's aircraft development faced challenges during the flight test. "[46]
Awards and recognition
[edit]In 2018, Lilium was named as the management team of the year – industrial goods as the silver Stevie winner of the Stevie Awards.[47]
In July 2019, the Lilium five-seater Jet received aRed Dot Award:Design Concept for "Best of the Best".[48]
In 2019, Lilium was named second inLinkedInGermany's 'Top Startups' list.[49]
In 2021 the Lilium Jet won the IF Gold Award in the discipline ofProfessional Concept.[50]
In 2024 Lilium design team received an award at the eVTOL Insights’ Global Advanced Air Mobility Awards: "Design Team of the Year"[51]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Gapper, John (12 January 2023)."Flying car, anyone?".FT Magazine.
- ^"Lilium Company - Lilium".lilium.Retrieved6 May2024.
- ^Palmer, Maija (14 March 2019)."Lilium hopes to soar with launch of electric air taxis".Financial Times.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^Balzter, Sebastian (15 September 2024)."Lilium und das liebe Geld"[Lilium and the dear money].Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung(in German).Retrieved15 September2024.
- ^"Lilium Jet" Eagle "Prototype (Defunct)".Electric VTOL News™.21 October 2019.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^"Lilium unveils five-seater air taxi prototype after a successful maiden flight for its latest jet".TechCrunch.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^"Five seater self-flying air taxi unveiled".16 May 2019.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^Ulrike Ebner (21 April 2017)."Lilium Jet absolviert unbemannten Erstflug (Lilium Jet completes unmanned first flight)".flugrevue.Retrieved18 October2018.
- ^"The Week In Technology, Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2019 | Aviation Week Network".aviationweek.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^BBC (20 April 2017)."Jet-propelled sky taxi tested in Germany".BBC.Retrieved6 August2018.
- ^Andy Hoffman (13 January 2019)."Swiss Rail Service Planning Electric Flying Taxis: Report".Bloomberg.Retrieved18 January2019.
- ^"Lilium releases new flight footage and details factory plans for 2025 launch".TechCrunch.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^Rudgard, Olivia (22 October 2019)."The electric air taxi that could take you from London to Manchester in an hour starting in 2025".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^Hawkins, Andrew J. (11 November 2020)."Flying taxi startup Lilium will build a hub for its electric aircraft in Florida".The Verge.Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^Lilium (6 August 2018)."Imprint".lilium.Retrieved6 August2018.
- ^Jonas Jansen (5 September 2017)."Für ihr Flugauto bekommen diese deutschen Erfinder 90 Millionen Dollar (For their flight car these German inventors get 90 million dollars)".FAZ.Retrieved6 August2018.
- ^"Lilium".frankstephenson.3 August 2021.
- ^Giuseppe Rondinella (12 June 2018)."Münchner Lufftaxi-Start-up holt ersten Marketingchef an Bord".horizont.net.Retrieved6 August2018.
- ^Steve O'Hear (18 September 2018)."Atomico's Yann de Vries joins flying taxi company Lilium as VP Corporate Development".TechCrunch.Retrieved18 October2018.
- ^Field, Matthew (11 June 2019)."Boost for UK tech as German flying taxi startup creates 'hundreds' of new London software jobs".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^O'Hear, Steve (10 June 2019)."Lilium, the ambitious German air taxi company, picks London for its new software engineering base".TechCrunch.Retrieved14 August2024.
- ^"Lilium, the ambitious German air taxi company, picks London for its new software engineering base".TechCrunch.Retrieved29 January2020.
- ^Hawkins, Andrew J. (22 October 2019)."Lilium's electric air taxi is finally actually flying in new video".The Verge.Retrieved29 January2020.
- ^Bhuiyan, Johana (21 August 2017)."Flying-car company Lilium has hired ex-Gett and Airbus execs to help make its on-demand air taxis a reality by 2025".Vox.Retrieved29 January2020.
- ^"Lilium raises another $240M to design, test and run an electric aircraft taxi service".TechCrunch.Retrieved17 September2020.
- ^"Lilium reportedly seeking public investment via SPAC in high-stakes test for electric air taxi-makers".evtol.Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^"Lilium closes business combination with Qell Acquisition Corp., will begin trading on Nasdaq under the symbol" LILM "on September 15".Retrieved11 June2022.
- ^Köhn, Rüdiger; München."E-Flugzeuge: Der ICE der Lüfte".FAZ.NET(in German).ISSN0174-4909.Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^"Tom Enders, former Airbus CEO joins Lilium board - Lilium".lilium.Retrieved15 February2021.
- ^"Klaus Roewe, industry veteran and former leader of one of the most profitable commercial aircraft programs, to join Lilium as CEO".
- ^Jörn Brien (10 June 2021)."Lilium: Münchener Flugtaxi-Pionier holt US-Luft- und Raumfahrtkonzern Honeywell an Bord".t3n.de.Retrieved11 June2021.
- ^Der Lufttaxi-Hoffnung Lilium geht das Geld ausBusinessinsider, die Welt zitierend, 21 July 2021.
- ^"Thelen zu Lilium:" bin mehr denn je von Management und Technologie überzeugt ""(in German). 22 September 2021.Retrieved22 September2021.
- ^Sam Shead (3 August 2021)."An electric jet start-up just signed a $1 billion deal with a commercial airliner".CNBC.
- ^Lilium will seinen Senkrechtstarter deutlich vereinfachenHandelsblatt, 1 March 2022, retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^Finanzen nicht unter Kontrolle? Münchener Flugtaxi-Startup Lilium gesteht Schwachstellen ein,in Business insider 4 October 2022, retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^Aktiencrash und riesige Kapitallücke – Lilium droht den Wettlauf zu verlieren,in Welt 24 November 2022, retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^0 Euro Umsatz, 253 Millionen Verlust und ein Starttermin im Irgendwann,Die Welt, 31 March 2023, retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ^Flugtaxi-Unternehmen Lilium droht Rauswurf aus der Nasdaq,Handelsblatt, 13 April 2023, retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ^beschafft sich mehr Geld,Süddeutsche Zeitung 19 July 2023, retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^Financial Results,Shareholder Letter FY 2023,retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^Senkrechter Blindflug,Wirtschaftswoche, 21 March 2024.
- ^"Saudia Group Signs Industry-Leading Sales Agreement With Lilium to Acquire Up to 100 eVTOL Jets".Media Release.Munich:Lilium GmbH.18 July 2024.Retrieved18 July2024.
- ^abReinhold, Lars (23 January 2020)."Lilium: Weitere Experten unterstützen Kritik".aerokurier.de(in German).Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^"Lilium reportedly seeking public investment via SPAC in high-stakes test for electric air taxi-makers".evtol.Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^Bogaisky, Jeremy."Lilium's New Course: On Verge Of Going Public, It's Working On A Bigger Air Taxi. Can It Deliver?".Forbes.Retrieved15 February2021.
- ^"Gewinner der German Stevie® Awards 2018 | Stevie Awards".stevieawards(in German).Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^"Lilium jet awarded prestigious 'Best of the Best' Red Dot design award".Robotics & Automation News.30 July 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2019.Retrieved14 January2020.
- ^"Lilium comes second in 'LinkedIn Top Startups of 2019' - Lilium".lilium.Retrieved23 January2021.
- ^"Lilium / Aircraft".ifworlddesignguide.Retrieved13 May2021.
- ^Pritchard, Jason (8 May 2024)."First winners of eVTOL Insights' Global Advanced Air Mobility Awards revealed at Montreal conference - eVTOL Insights".evtolinsights.Retrieved2 July2024.