Lilium (Detailed)
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Lilium, founded in 2015 near Munich, was building the Lilium Jet — an all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft with pivoting wings and ducted fans, aimed at zero-emission regional air mobility. After its 2021 SPAC listing at a $3.3 billion valuation, the company advanced toward first manned flights in 2025 and EASA certification by 2026, accumulating an order pipeline of more than 780 jets from global operators, with Saudi Arabia's Saudia Group signing for up to 100.
02 / Lilium (Detailed) FAILURE REASONS
Why it failed
Certification-stage aerospace development outpaced Lilium's financing. When the German parliament's budget committee blocked a €50 million state guarantee for a €100 million KfW convertible loan, the German subsidiaries entered self-administration in October 2024. KPMG ran an M&A process; a December 24, 2024 asset purchase agreement with the Mobile Uplift Corporation consortium (pledging over €200 million) was supposed to fund a restart — but the money never arrived, all remaining employees were terminated on December 20, 2024, and Lilium filed for insolvency a second time in February 2025.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Asset restructuring
Lilium's 24 Oct 2024 media release (same day as SEC 6-K) said the board approved German self-administration applications for Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH after the Bundestag Budget Committee did not approve a KfW loan guarantee that was a condition to private funding; CEO Klaus Roewe said there was no alternative but to cause the subsidiaries to file.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
The December 2024 Mobile Uplift rescue deal collapsed when its funds never materialized.
- 02
An asset purchase agreement without funded commitments could not save the operating subsidiaries.
- 03
Under German insolvency law, no proceeds would have flowed to the listed parent Lilium N.V. in any case.