Lilium is not currently receiving any state aid from the federal government. The Bavarian air taxi company, which pursues a thoroughly innovative vision, could be on the verge of extinction. But there are simply no arguments to speculate with taxpayers' money. A comment.
It's actually never nice when a German company is facing bankruptcy or possibly moving its headquarters abroad. Because then jobs and tax revenue would be lost. But this fate could now befall the Bavarian air taxi company Lilium. However, the canceled state aid is not the reason for this. Lilium's problems run deeper.
No state aid for Lilium – a good thing!
Background: The federal government actually wanted to guarantee half of a loan from the state development bank KfW worth 100 million euros. Bavaria had previously announced that it would be responsible for the remaining 50 million, but tied this to a commitment from the federal government. But the Budget Committee was unable to agree on a decision.
The Bavarian state government is angry. While Bavaria's Economics Minister Aiwanger sees the reasons for the failure in poor budget planning, Prime Minister Markus Söder always sings the same song: “The Greens”. But for free!
Because regardless of the reasons why no agreement was reached, the decision is the right one. Contrary to what Aiwanger and Söder would have you believe, there are simply no economic arguments to speculate with taxpayers' money.
Politicians must and should work to promote innovative technology companies and preserve jobs. However, the future prospects must also be right. Otherwise the money would be wasted. Because state aid or not: Lilium's business model didn't look particularly rosy before.
Air taxis: Lots of innovation potential and even more risk
Admittedly, when it comes to innovation, there is a lot of potential in Lilium, but at least as much risk. For example, the company has not yet launched a single manned air taxi, but has already posted a loss of 1.5 billion euros.
The reasons for this: The start-up uses around three dozen propellers for its air taxis. These have to rotate very quickly to make a plane take off. However, this contradicts a basic principle in aviation. Because large propellers are far more efficient and economical. That's why engines and wind turbines are getting bigger and bigger.
Another disadvantage: it requires a lot of storm to take off vertically. The batteries therefore have to deliver a lot of energy in a short period of time. However, today's batteries cannot withstand this for long because they wear out more quickly. The regulation of air taxis also poses a problem because the approval criteria in aviation are rightly extremely strict.
The future of Lilium is therefore uncertain. However, the state would be wise not to speculate with taxpayers' money. Private investors can afford to take such risks. However, an investment now seems too sensitive even for venture capitalists.
Notice: This post is a comment. This is a journalistic form of presentation that explicitly reflects the opinion of the author and not the entire magazine. The comment does not claim to be objective, but is intended to stimulate the formation of opinions and is protected as an opinion piece by Article 5 of the Basic Law.
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Source: https://www.basicthinking.de/blog/2024/10/18/keine-spekulation-mit-steuergeldern-gut-dass-lilium-keine-staatshilfen-erhaelt/
