Lilium Aerospace files for insolvency, ceases operations

Lilium Aerospace, the new face of Lilium after it entered insolvency proceedings in December last year, has now filed for insolvency after new funding options could not be secured. 

In a statement, the company said: “As the funding options to secure Lilium’s future have not materialised in time, Lilium Aerospace has filed for insolvency today. While talks about alternative solutions are still ongoing, the chance for restructuring right now is highly unlikely and therefore operations will be stopped.

“Given the situation, this is deeply regretful for all employees and Lilium Aerospace thanks them for their resilience and dedication,” it added.

The Munich-based company had managed to avoid filing for insolvency last week on the stipulation that it would secure funding sometime this week.  According to Flight Global, Lilium Aerospace had warned staff on February 13th that it would have to apply for insolvency within 24hrs if it had not received fresh funding.

Lilium’s financial troubles came to the fore when it failed to secure loan guarantees from the German government in Autumn last year. If agreed, it would have seen Lilium secure a loan guarantee worth €100m – €50m from the federal government and €50m from the state of Bavaria. The state tranche had been agreed in September 2024 subject to the federal government agreeing to match it.

The original company filed for insolvency in late October 2024. Then on December 24th, it announced an asset purchase agreement with Mobile Uplift Corporation, a consortium of European and North American investors, aiming to acquire the company’s operating assets.

The agreement, worth €200m, was meant to enable financial restructuring and allow Lilium’s subsidiaries to exit self-administration proceedings. The transaction’s completion was anticipated for early January. However, as today’s news confirms, the planned investment did not materialise.

There have also been a number of media reports indicating that Lilium’s staff have not received full pay during the proceedings. Including a report by Flight Global that employees had resorted to crowdfunding to cover their living costs while the company remains in financial turmoil.