German manufacturer Lilium has announced its partnership with CUSTOMCELLS to supply tailor-made lithium-ion based battery cells for its flying taxi.
The company will provide the battery for the all-electric seven-seater jet, set to launch in 2024 – “an aircraft enabling a sustainable and accessible mode of high-speed travel”, the website said.
Munich-based Lilium is developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet that can travel distances of up to 300 kilometres within one hour on a single charge.
Using Lilium’s licensed technology, CUSTOMCELLS will manufacture its battery cells at its Tubingen location, partnered with Manz AG, its equipment supplier.
Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and chief executive of Lilium, said CUSTOMCELLS has already manufactured silicon anode batteries for several other of its customers.
“With their extensive experience of designing and producing customised high-performance Li-Ion batteries for automotive and aviation applications, CUSTOMCELLS is an ideal partner to manufacture aerospace-quality battery cells for our jet,” he said.
Lilium was founded in 2015 and applied for concurrent type certification with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration in 2018.
Lilium has a range of suppliers, including Toray Industries, Aciturri, Lufthansa Aviation Training, Honeywell and Palantir.
The company also collaborates with infrastructure leaders Tavistock Development Company, and Ferrovial, a leading airport operator.
Last November, Lilium announced its Lake Nona Vertiport to see accessible regional air mobility available to over 20 million residents, and create over 100 jobs.
Lilium is set to build 14 vertiports in Florida.
The business aircraft can carry six passengers with one pilot, has a wing span of 13.9 metres and a length of 8.5 metres.
It can reach a maximum physical range of 250 plus kilometers (155 plus miles) and has a cruise altitude of 3,000 meters.
“This partnership will bring two leading German innovators together and underlines the strength of the German manufacturing and tech ecosystem,” said Leopold Konig, co-founder and CEO of CUSTOMCELLS.
The manufacturer specialises in tailor-made production of all elements of the battery cell, “with an outstanding quality and traceability approach, depending on the customer’s requirements profile”, he said.
CUSTOMCELLS announced its joint venture with Porsche AG in June to produce batteries at their Weissach Development Centre.
