In the Oberpfaffenhofen Incubator ESA-BIC works Lilium Aviation on the vision of an electric aircraft for individual transport. The Munich-based company has now been able to convince the London investment company Atomico of Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström for a 10 million euro investment.
Munich-Frankfurt in one hour—without the tiresome commute to the airport, without traffic jams, without a guilty eco-conscience. Lilium is working on an aircraft that will be able to take off vertically from the city, electrically powered, quiet, and reach speeds of 300 km/h. It sounds almost too good to be true, but by March of this year, it had already convinced Frank Thelen and his investment company. e42 from joining the startup.
Will Lilium “shake the world in a positive way”?
Today, the news came that Atomico is also investing in the Munich-based company. Niklas Zennström says:
"Lilium is [a] once-in-a-generation transformative technology that will have a seismic, positive impact on the world for generations to come. We know that cities are congested, aviation and travel pollute the environment and people waste time when they should be able to move around easily. These are the great challenges of our time and Lilium is determined to solve them."
Lilium Aviation was founded in 2015 by four graduates of the Technical University of Munich. Zennström will also have a place in the Board of Directors of the company.
Not more expensive than a regular taxi
The startup plans to use the funding to further expand its 35-person team. Initial flight tests with the prototype are scheduled to take place as early as next spring. Thanks to its lightweight construction, the market-ready jet is expected to be at least as energy-efficient as an electric car and, when used as a taxi, no more expensive than a conventional transportation service.
