Toray Industries, Inc., announced that it has concluded an agreement with Lilium GmbH to supply carbon fiber composite materials for the Lilium Jet. The Munich-based company is developing this all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft to deliver clean, regional air mobility as early as 2025. Lilium CEO Daniel Wiegand is one of the co-founders of that company, which was established in 2015.

 

Regional air mobility could help reduce traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution in crowded cities. Entities around the world are developing airframes and operational systems for air taxi services. Governments are working on regulatory frameworks. Lilium is spearheading the quest to manufacture air vehicle and develop and commercialize services.

 

Carbon fiber composite materials are vital to lighten such vehicles as the Lilium Jet. Toray is deepening ties with Lilium and other manufacturers while continuing to innovate materials that contribute to progress with these transportation platforms by enhancing performance, conserving energy, and lowering costs. The Lilium Jet will take up to four passengers and its pilot up to 300 kilometers in less than 60 minutes. Its fuselage, wings, rotor vanes, and other structural components will employ carbon fiber composite materials.

 

The Lilium Jet is a five-seater, emissions-free aircraft that can take off and land vertically and is designed to provide high-speed regional connections of up to 300km in under 60 minutes. The aircraft’s primary structures, such as the fuselage, wings and flaps will all be made from carbon fiber.

 

Toray Industries is recognized as a global leader in aerospace materials and their carbon fiber products played a critical role in the success of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. “Securing this supply agreement marks an important step in the maturity of our supply chain and in our preparations for serial production,” commented Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and CEO at Lilium.

 

In the first instance, the material will be supplied directly to Lilium for use in the production of further technology demonstrators, before being delivered directly to suppliers who will manufacture parts for prototypes and serial production.

 

The agreement also paves the way for further collaboration between the two companies, both in the provision of other high-performance materials and the establishment of research and development partnerships.

 

Commenting on the partnership, Yves Yemsi, Chief Program Officer, Lilium said: “Toray’s wealth of experience in the world of high-performance carbon fibers and composite materials speaks for itself and we’re proud to be counted amongst the aerospace companies they supply.

 

“We look forward to developing a close collaboration with Toray in the years ahead and to building a resilient and agile supply chain for the Lilium Jet, together with other well-established and reliable aerospace suppliers across different fields of technology.”

 

Discussing the partnership, Minoru Yoshinaga, Toray Senior Vice President, General Manager of Torayca and Composites Division, said: “We are pleased to be selected as a partner by Lilium, one of the most promising companies in this emerging market sector.

 

“We look forward to working with Lilium to solve the environmental issues in urban areas, contributing by the power of materials.”

 

Lilium’s vision of air mobility encompasses a network of vertiports spread across an entire region, providing high-speed, point-to-point routes. Each additional vertiport added to the network would connect directly with all others within a 300km radius, leading to a fast scaling network that can provide regional connectivity at a fraction of the cost of traditional infrastructure such as high-speed trains. Lilium expects commercial operations to commence in 2025.