Lilium and CUSTOMCELLS Partner to Ready Lilium’s 7-Seater Jet for Commercialization
Lilium announces entry into a partnership with CUSTOMCELL to ramp up production of silicon-anode batteries for the 7-Seater Lilium Jet.
Lilium GmbH (Lilium) is a German aerospace company that specializes in the development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jets, which are designed to be faster than terrestrial vehicles. The company was founded in 2015 in Munich and aims to transform the future of regional electric air mobility.
Lilium recently announced its entry into a partnership with the German manufacturer of customer-specific lithium-ion battery (LiB) cells, CUSTOMCELLS. Together, the two companies plan to scale up production of the all-electric 7-Seater Lilium Jet before commercial launch in 2024.
Image used courtesy of Lilium
The Technology
As its name implies, the 7-Seater Lilium Jet can carry up to 7 people including 6 passengers and the pilot. The aircraft has a wingspan of 13.9 m / 45.6 ft and an overall length of 8.5 m / 27.9 ft. Ducted engines allow for a high payload as well as a low footprint and enable the use of existing helipads. Ducted fans with integrated acoustic liners provide the benefit of reducing noise level and keeping it below 60dBA at 100m. The 7-Seater Lilium Jet has a cruise altitude of 3,000 m / 10,000 ft and a cruise speed of 280 km/h / 175 mph. The jet has fixed wings, no tail, and embedded distributed propulsion.
Image used courtesy of Lilium
Lilium’s core proprietary technology behind its aircraft is Ducted Electric Vectored Thrust (DEVT). This technology involves the integration of electric jet engines into the wing flaps to help improve payload, aerodynamic efficiency, create a lower noise profile, and provide thrust vector control to maneuver the Lilium Jet during flight. During the design of the 7-Seater Lilium jet, Lilium made sure to incorporate sustainability with a single "stage" rotor/stator system powered by an electric motor with zero emissions.
Lilium and CUSTOMCELLS
Under the partnership, CUSTOMCELLS will be a primary supplier to Lilium. The former company will be manufacturing LiBs for the 7-Seater Lilium Jet. CUSTOMCELLS will use Lilium’s licensed technology and industrialize battery cells for high-quality series production at its Tübingen location. This site is hailed as one of the most modern battery cell production lines in Europe.
In a news release, Co-Founder and CEO of CUSTOMCELLS, Leopold König, said, “On the basis of flexible manufacturing concepts, CUSTOMCELLS guarantees high-tech solutions for special applications and tailor-made production of electrodes, electrolytes and battery cells with an outstanding quality and traceability approach, depending on the customer's requirements profile. This partnership will bring two leading German innovators together and underlines the strength of the German manufacturing and tech ecosystem.”
In the same news release, the Co-Founder and CEO of Lilium, Daniel Wiegand, said, “With their extensive experience of designing and producing customized high-performance Li-Ion batteries for automotive and aviation applications, CUSTOMCELLS is an ideal partner to manufacture aerospace-quality battery cells for our jet. They have already set up the manufacturing of silicon anode batteries for several of their customers. We are excited to be working alongside another next-generation company like CUSTOMCELLS.”
By partnering with CUSTOMCELLS, Lilium will have the production capacity required to take its new Jet to the market in 2024.
