The Munich start-up company wants to bring an electric air taxi onto the market shortly and needs a government loan guarantee. But there won’t be. The consequences are open.
The electric aircraft pioneer Lilium should not receive any state support – not from the federal government and therefore not from Bavaria. According to information from the German Press Agency, the traffic light coalition has rejected a guarantee of 50 million euros. According to reports, the Greens in particular were against it, and the budget holders of the SPD and ultimately also those of the FDP would probably have agreed. The Bayerischer Rundfunk had previously reported on it. With the no from Berlin, a Bavarian promise of aid is also invalid.
The Bavarian cabinet decided in September to grant Lilium a loan guarantee of 50 million euros – but only on the condition that the federal government contributes in the same way. “We would have made our contribution,” said Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) on Thursday – and made serious allegations against the Greens. The state government had recently repeatedly stated that it could not handle the aid promises for Lilium alone. Lilium itself initially did not want to comment on the events.
The start-up company is working on a fully electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi. The first flight is scheduled to take place in early 2025, and the first machines are scheduled to be delivered to customers in 2026. But that costs a lot of money; Around 200 million euros were spent in the first half of 2024 alone. So far, the company, which is listed on the US stock exchange Nasdaq, has been financed by around 70 investors.
Mutual blame
SPD householder Dennis Rohde said: “Germany cannot afford for future industrial jobs to disappear. That’s why we as the SPD would have liked to provide state support for this climate-neutral future technology. Unfortunately, there was no majority in the current coalition for this economic policy conviction .”
The FDP chairman in the budget committee, Aschaffenburg MP Karsten Klein, said that after in-depth analyzes the chances of federal aid outweighed the FDP parliamentary group. “The failure is not a good signal for the company, the jobs and Bavaria as a high-tech location.” At the same time, he criticized the Bavarian state government: It must “finally introduce instruments that make it easier for start-ups in Bavaria and, above all, provide more planning security.”
Söder attacks the Greens
“Old industries in the north, such as shipyards, are supported by the federal government with billions of dollars, but there is not a cent for future investments in the south. This is a blatantly wrong decision and further gross disadvantage for Bavaria,” criticized Söder. The traffic light is blocking urgently needed innovation in Germany and endangering over 1,000 highly specialized jobs. The Greens are responsible if German creativity migrates to the USA, France or China. This is damaging to Germany as a business location. Bavaria’s Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU) criticized Germany for “chasing its own founders from the court.” The. “Green deindustrialization of Germany” continues.
Lilium employs around 500 aeronautical engineers and already has customers with over 700 firm and pre-orders for its electric air taxis in the USA, Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and many other countries. A company spokesman said: “France has promised us significant funding if we open a second location in southwest France.”
Söder on X
Source: Stern
