Air Taxi
Lilium Raises $240 Million for Electric Air Taxi
Development — ‘At Least 12 Months of Runway’
The United Kingdom recently announced its
intent to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and
certify new aircraft types separately through its Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA), which may create another expensive regulatory obstacle to Lilium’s
planned entry to service.
Rumors circulated in
fall of 2019 that Lilium was seeking to raise $400-500 million
— about double the amount the company announced. In late February, one of
Lilium’s two prototype jets was damaged in an electrical fire that broke out
during ground maintenance, the exact cause of which has not yet been
established.
Lilium is now the second best-funded
startup in the urban air mobility sector, after Joby Aviation, which in January
announced a $590 million round to bring its total war chest
over $720 million.
“Nexa Capital anticipates that over
$2 billion will go to other eVTOL start-ups in 2020 alone,” Michael Dyment,
managing partner of Nexa Capital Partners, told Avionics after
Joby announced its record-breaking fundraise.
Industry analysts have speculated
for some time that the eVTOL industry will soon enter a period of bankruptcy
and consolidation, with many of the 200+ aircraft projects failing to raise the
necessary funding to continue. The recent coronavirus outbreak, which has ravaged
the aviation sector around the globe, may accelerate that process, according to
Michael Blades, vice president for aerospace, defense and security at Frost
& Sullivan.
“In aviation, only the strong will
survive this pandemic,” Blades told Avionics. “We will see
several airline failures and we will see a lack of companies willing to invest
further into eVTOL companies, especially when the strong already have funds in
place and have tested prototypes. I think the whole pandemic may even change
the potential market size.”
“A huge amount of the need for
eVTOLs, in my opinion, would be to travel back and forth to work,” Blades added
on the potential long-term implications of the outbreak. “With this massive
shift to telework, I think there will be a lower need in the future for all
transportation to/from workplaces.”
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