German firm Lilium has been gaining a lot of attention for its 36-engine, five-seat, VTOL electric aircraft that it plans to put into service in 2025.
Compact, quiet, and emissions-free VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft are gaining increasing attention in the aviation world, with a slew of companies battling it out to become the first to launch a viable air taxi service for urban transportation.
One outfit that’s causing a stir in the sector is Lilium. The Munich, Germany-based company has just secured another $35 million in funding to add to the $240 million it picked up in March 2020 to help it further develop its five-seat, fully electric VTOL aircraft, called Lilium Jet.
The latest cash injection comes from Baillie Gifford, a 112-year-old Scottish investment firm that in the past has also backed SpaceX, Tesla, Spotify, and Airbnb, among others.
Lilium, which started life in 2015, says it’s aiming to build a system offering trips that would be considerably faster than rail or road, yet competitive in price.
