BERLIN – Lilium urgently needs money. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had insisted on state aid for the air taxi manufacturer. According to “Spiegel” information, federal participation in a guarantee for a 100 million euro loan for Lilium is doubtful – Wissing is on the budget committee.
Does the air taxi company Lilium receive government aid? There was resistance in the Bundestag this week – including from the transport minister’s party.
The FDP householder Frank Schäffler had spoken out against federal aid for the Bavarian air taxi company Lilium. The member of the Bundestag told the German Press Agency: “I think it’s wrong to help Lilium. There is no apparent federal interest in promoting air taxis.”
The risk for the federal government is far too high. “If Bavaria wants to accept this subsidy, then it should do so alone. There should be no speculation with federal tax money.”
According to “Spiegel” information, this view predominates in the budget committee, where Schäffler is the FDP’s responsible rapporteur for the budget of the Ministry of Transport.
The budget committee should decide on a possible federal guarantee of 50 million euros for the company, but according to “Spiegel” it will no longer put the Lilium issue on the agenda.
The Bavarian cabinet decided in September to grant Lilium a so-called assumption of liability through a KfW loan of 50 million euros – the prerequisite was that the federal government contributed in the same way.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is considered a supporter of a federal guarantee for Lilium. The ministry said in September that it welcomed the Bavarian cabinet’s decision. “We want to keep this key technology in German hands and prevent it from moving abroad,” said Wissing.
High capital requirements
Lilium urgently needs new money – we are talking about at least 300 million euros until the model certification of the Lilium Jet is planned for 2026.
The Lilium management had recently publicly flirted with a sale to foreign investors and a relocation after a decision on state aid had not been made. Air taxis are already being produced in China, for example.
© aero.de, dpa | Fig.: Lilium | Oct 11, 2024 06:49
