Delegates look at the Lilium Jet, an electric vertical take-off eVTOL jet, on the company’s stand on … [+]
Lilium earlier this week announced a second bankruptcy and we await news on whether Volocopter has enough funding for a future — meanwhile, China’s EHang held a pilotless flight trial in Spain, claiming it was the first in Europe.
Is the European eVTOL dream ending just before the advanced air mobility (AAM) market takes off?
Lilium first filed for insolvency in October, though that was believed to be solved after a investment group known as the Mobile Uplift Consortium stepped up over the Christmas period with funding to keep the company aloft. At the time, Lilium CEO Klaus Roewe said if the deal closed by the end of January, the company would be able to get back to work. That appears not to have happened.
Last week, Lilium again filed for bankruptcy, after weeks of reports suggesting the promised €200 million funding hadn’t come through for the electric jet maker.
In a statement sent to journalists earlier this week, Lilium said: “As the funding options to secure Lilium’s future have not materialized in time, Lilium Aerospace has filed for insolvency today. While talks about alternative solutions are still ongoing, the chance for restructuring right now is highly unlikely and therefore operations will be stopped.”
Awaiting Volocopter news
Alongside Lilium’s woes, fellow German eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft developer Volocopter filed for insolvency at the end of last year, saying at the time it hoped investors could be found by the end of February.
A Volocopter unmanned air taxi transport flies over Marina Bay during test flight with a safety … [+]
Volocopter’s press office told me that external administrators and the company’s management were still working on the issue, and hoped to have news early next week — though hopefully signalling positive news, Volocopter earlier this month signed a deal with helicopter firm Jet Systems to bring eVTOL services in France.
“Between Lilium’s second bankruptcy and Volocopter’s impending milestone… there will not be a first wave eVTOL vehicle in Europe,” predicted Sergio Cecutta, an analyst at SMG Consulting.
End of European eVTOLs?
That leaves the market open for leaders like American Joby Aviation and Chinese EHang.
“That means the market will be in the hands of US and, possibly, Chinese companies that will offer services in 2027/2028 and make Europe a tougher market for the second wave companies working on air taxi in the region,” Cecutta added.
There’s still hope in the UK, as Vertical Aerospace’s hunt for investment ended positively last year, winning investment from main backer Mudrick Capital as well as a $90 million funding round, allowing that eVTOL maker to continue work, marking a milestone in January with a piloted hover flight test.
EHang tests eVTOLs in Europe
Highlighting the gap between European and Chinese eVTOL efforts, EHang today announced the successful test flight of its autonomous EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Benidorm, Spain. The company said: “This is the first urban flight of a pilotless eVTOL aircraft in Europe.”
EHang’s EH216-S Pilotless electric unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft flies in … [+]
The test flight was inside a controlled airspace and featured a dozen drones simultaneously managed through Spain’s air traffic control system.
“The EH216-S flight in Benidorm, the first pilotless eVTOL aircraft demonstration in a European city under EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) regulations, marks a pivotal step in the future of urban aviation,” the company added. “This demonstration validates the feasibility of integrating unmanned aircraft systems into urban environments while in full compliance with stringent European safety and regulatory frameworks, and its success sets a precedent for future urban air mobility deployments across the continent.”
What happened to European eVTOLs?
It’s unclear exactly what happened with Lilium, other than the high costs of developing such aircraft — reports put its spend above €1.5 billion.
Co-founder Patrick Nathen said on Linkedin: “On a pure personal note, reflecting on the past events, I want to share one new key learning with my fellow founders: Never give away control of your own start-up. Never.”
Lilium and Volocopter were both hit by the German government pulling backing for loans, though Cecutta previously told me that there’s simply not enough money sloshing around Europe, making it harder to raise capital than in the US or China.
“There will be more bankruptcies for sure…but some of them will
Germany-based company Volocopter 2X’s air taxi is flown by test pilot Damian Hischier during a … [+]
be in smaller companies with significantly less impact on the industry and the news cycle,” Cecutta told me. “As a measuring stick, taking the top 60 AAM companies on the planet, they will need another $40 billion plus to certify their vehicles. And in today’s climate, even a tenth of that number is a big ask.”
Cecutta added that the European eVTOL market’s stumbles weren’t caused by slow regulators — instead the European Union Aviation Safety Agency led the field when it came to working with companies to certify. “Finally, for EASA, that took all the right steps out of the gate to be the regulatory leader worldwide, it means falling behind the FAA when it comes to the experience in certification of eVTOLs,” noted Cecutta.
Whether yet another consortium steps up to save Lilium remains to be seen, but without more funding, Europe’s eVTOL market looks grounded.
