Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

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Charles Alcock

Read the latest news about German eVTOL developer Lilium.

Lilium is at risk of missing out on €100 million ($109 million) in loan guarantees from German federal and state governments. Following reports last week in Der Spiegel newspaper that the German parliament’s budget committee has blocked a €50 million loan that would have released a previously agreed upon loan for the same amount from the state of Bavaria, the Munich-based company's CEO, Klaus Roewe, issued a statement addressing what he said were “misunderstandings” about the funding.
According to Der Spiegel’s sources in the Bundestag, budget committee members declined to approve the loan last week, despite it being backed by federal transport minister Volker Wissing. This brings into question whether Bavaria will release the matching funds approved by the state government in September.
However, Lilium now expects the budget committee to reconsider the request on October 16 after a further intervention by Wissing. The company told AIN&nbsp;that it expects to receive a decision soon, following discussions with both the federal and state governments.
Earlier this year, Bavaria asked the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-05-15/german-officials-start-due-diligence-liliums-loan-guarantees">state development bank KfW</a> to conduct the required due diligence for the loan, and this step appeared to have been cleared in September. However, at the federal level, an uncertain government coalition between three parties, with the fiscally conservative Free Democratic Party (FDP) seemingly pushing back against its partners—the Social Democratic and Green parties.
According to reports in the Germany’s DPA press agency, FDP member of parliament Frank Schäffler—who has pushed back against the political consensus over climate change—led opposition to the loan for Lilium. “The risk for the federal government is far too high,” he told a DPA reporter. “If Bavaria wants to accept this subsidy, then it should do so alone.”
In a statement released via social media, Roewe said the fixed-rate loan would be a signal to investors that the German government supports the objectives of the electric aviation sector. “It’s not about saving a crisis-ridden company with grants,” he stated, warning that private investors could take their funds to other countries.
<h2>Risk to Germany's Role in Electric Aviation</h2>
Roewe warned that if the country’s politicians fail to back Lilium, this could undermine the future of the German industry. The former Airbus executive claimed that rival eVTOL aircraft developer Joby has received more than $600 million in U.S. government support.
“Do we now want to let the electrification of aviation migrate abroad if the world’s best technology for this has been developed by German engineers?” Roewe asked rhetorically. “Shouldn’t even pragmatism win over ideology here? Does Germany want to buy electric aircraft in the U.S. and China in the future, just as passenger aircraft (Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed) did back then, because we didn’t have our own industry?”
According to Lilium, it employs over 1,100 people, mainly in Germany. Roewe said the company pays around €50 million each year in taxes and social security contributions.
In May, Lilium said it was in negotiations with the French government over possible subsidies and loan guarantees to support high-volume production of its four- to six-passenger Lilium Jet. It has been <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-05-13/france-may-provide-funds-lilium-evtol-aircraft-production">investigating sites in France</a> with plans to invest up to around €400 million there and create roughly 850 new jobs.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission 6-K filing on September 30, Lilium acknowledged that it will need “substantial additional cash to fund our operations until type certification and entry into service.” A <a href="https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001855756/000141057824001664/lilm-20240630x6k.htm">management statement</a> on the company’s unaudited accounts for the first half of 2024 indicated that potential funding from both the German and French governments is among an array of options for more funding that also include issuing new equity through mechanisms such as equity-backed lines of credit or securities.
On July 11, New York’s Nasdaq stock market notified Lilium that it has until Jan. 7, 2024, to attain and maintain a minimum bid price of $1 for at least 10 consecutive days. If it fails to do so, it could be required to <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-09-17/vertical-splits-stock-evtol-aircraft-developer-seeks-new">initiate a stock split as UK-based Vertical Aerospace did</a> in September.

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