Lilium’s non-electric aircraft technology continues in the Archer

Electric aircraft startup Lilium may have gone out of business a year ago, but the bankruptcy filing wasn’t the end of the Germany-based company.

There have been several failed attempts to restructure the company, including a latest attempt by Mobile Uplift Corporation, a company founded by investors from Europe and North America, to acquire the operating assets of its two startup subsidiaries. Eventually, a bankruptcy trustee put the company’s assets into a competitive bidding process.

Now some of its technology will continue on to Archer Aviation, which beat Ambitious Air Mobility Group and US-based Joby Aviation to the winning bid 18 million euros ($21 million) for all 300 Lilium patent assets. Joby confirmed that he participated in the offer.

Founded in 2015, Lilium has developed a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with speeds of up to 100 km/h. The company raised more than $1 billion from investors before going public in 2021 on the Nasdaq through a merger with Qell, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). While it managed to attract high-profile investors like Tencent and lock in customers, including an order for 100 electric jets from Saudi Arabia, it burned through cash long before it could deliver a product.

The patents cover critical eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) technologies, including high-voltage systems, flight controls, air ducts and advanced aircraft design, according to an Archer spokeswoman. The new patents represent a “strong addition” to Archer’s growing IP portfolio, which now totals more than 1,000 global patent assets, the spokesperson noted in an email.

What Archer plans to do with these patents isn’t entirely clear, though there are hints. Lilium’s electric vent fans would be a good fit for light sport or regional electric flying — something that goes beyond Archer’s original mission.

Archer, which went public in 2021 through a merger with a SPAC, initially focused on developing an air taxi network. It added a defense program in December, which included an exclusive deal with weapons maker Anduril to jointly develop a gas-electric hybrid VTOL aircraft for critical defense applications.