Photo: Honeywell
A German air mobility startup has designed what it claims to be the first eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) jet in the world, and it's working with some of the top names in the industry to equip this flying machine for ultimate performance and sustainability.
The work behind a single eVTOL concept is phenomenal, and it's always a team effort, involving most often multiple experts from around the world. The highly-anticipated Lilium jet, developed by the company with the same name, may be German at heart, but it will feature systems and technologies from international aerospace giants such as GKN and Honeywell.
At the beginning of this year, the Munich-based eVTOL maker announced its partnership with GKN Aerospace. The Lilium jet will be equipped with GKN's integrated EWIS ((electric wiring interconnection systems) solution for high-voltage and high-power interconnections. GKN will build the EWIS hardware for the German aircraft at its facility in the Netherlands. The system will then be integrated into the eVTOL jet on-site at Lilium's final assembly facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Honeywell is another industry giant joining the groundbreaking air mobility project. The company has recently confirmed that it will supply Lilium with flight controls, the Anthem Avionics, and the Honeywell-DENSO electric motors.
In addition to that, the all-electric air taxi will feature Honeywell's MicroVCS (vapor cycle system) thermal management system. This technology is particularly suitable for eVTOLs and is innovative in terms of sustainability. Due to technical innovations, the system is 22% lighter overall compared to conventional ones, which translates to drastically lower CO2 emission levels per year. The refrigerant used for the MicroVCS also boasts 10% better hot-day power efficiency compared to the previous generation.
The German air mobility company has also secured important partnerships for large-scale battery production. InoBat will produce battery cells at two factories in Voderady, Slovakia – Volta 1 and Volta 2.
The first one will start operating next year, and the second one is a gigafactory with a planned production capacity of four gigawatt hours (GWh). The company supporting InoBat is none other than Gotion High-Tech, a supplier of the battery cell that will be installed in 80% of the Volkswagen Group's EVs in the future.
Lilium's main innovation is that it has adapted the conventional jet engine technology to electric aircraft through a single-stage rotor/stator system powered by an electric motor. This eVTOL jet is a power-lift aircraft that uses a DEVT (Ducted Electric Vectored Thrust) technology developed in-house by Lilium.
At the same time, this will be an ultra-luxurious electric air taxi available for private customers. US folks interested in this German jet will initially have access to it through the Texas-based EMCJET, which is Lilium's exclusive dealer for private sales in America.
At the beginning of this year, the Munich-based eVTOL maker announced its partnership with GKN Aerospace. The Lilium jet will be equipped with GKN's integrated EWIS ((electric wiring interconnection systems) solution for high-voltage and high-power interconnections. GKN will build the EWIS hardware for the German aircraft at its facility in the Netherlands. The system will then be integrated into the eVTOL jet on-site at Lilium's final assembly facility in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Honeywell is another industry giant joining the groundbreaking air mobility project. The company has recently confirmed that it will supply Lilium with flight controls, the Anthem Avionics, and the Honeywell-DENSO electric motors.
In addition to that, the all-electric air taxi will feature Honeywell's MicroVCS (vapor cycle system) thermal management system. This technology is particularly suitable for eVTOLs and is innovative in terms of sustainability. Due to technical innovations, the system is 22% lighter overall compared to conventional ones, which translates to drastically lower CO2 emission levels per year. The refrigerant used for the MicroVCS also boasts 10% better hot-day power efficiency compared to the previous generation.
The German air mobility company has also secured important partnerships for large-scale battery production. InoBat will produce battery cells at two factories in Voderady, Slovakia – Volta 1 and Volta 2.
The first one will start operating next year, and the second one is a gigafactory with a planned production capacity of four gigawatt hours (GWh). The company supporting InoBat is none other than Gotion High-Tech, a supplier of the battery cell that will be installed in 80% of the Volkswagen Group's EVs in the future.
Lilium's main innovation is that it has adapted the conventional jet engine technology to electric aircraft through a single-stage rotor/stator system powered by an electric motor. This eVTOL jet is a power-lift aircraft that uses a DEVT (Ducted Electric Vectored Thrust) technology developed in-house by Lilium.
At the same time, this will be an ultra-luxurious electric air taxi available for private customers. US folks interested in this German jet will initially have access to it through the Texas-based EMCJET, which is Lilium's exclusive dealer for private sales in America.
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