Although electric aircraft startup Lilium halted its operations a year ago, the German company’s insolvency did not mark its final chapter.
Several unsuccessful restructuring efforts took place, including a final proposal from Mobile Uplift Corporation—a business established by European and North American investors—to purchase the operating assets of Lilium’s two subsidiaries. In the end, a bankruptcy administrator organized a competitive auction for the company’s assets.
Now, a portion of Lilium’s technology will continue at Archer Aviation, which secured all 300 of Lilium’s patent assets with a successful €18 million ($21 million) bid, surpassing both Ambitious Air Mobility Group and U.S.-based Joby Aviation. Joby confirmed its participation in the bidding process.
Founded in 2015, Lilium was working on a vertical take-off and landing aircraft capable of reaching speeds up to 100 km/h. The company attracted over $1 billion in investments before debuting on the Nasdaq in 2021 through a merger with Qell, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Despite attracting major backers like Tencent and securing significant orders—including a purchase of 100 electric jets from Saudi Arabia—the company exhausted its funds before bringing a product to market.
According to an Archer representative, the acquired patents cover essential eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) innovations, such as high-voltage systems, flight control mechanisms, ducted fans, and advanced aircraft engineering. The spokesperson described these patents as a “significant boost” to Archer’s expanding intellectual property portfolio, which now exceeds 1,000 global patent assets.
Archer’s exact intentions for the newly acquired patents remain somewhat uncertain, though there are indications. Lilium’s electric ducted fan technology could be particularly useful for light-sport or regional electric aviation—areas that extend beyond Archer’s initial focus.
Archer, which also went public in 2021 through a SPAC merger, originally concentrated on building an air taxi service. In December, the company expanded into defense, signing an exclusive partnership with weapons manufacturer Anduril to co-develop a hybrid gas and electric VTOL aircraft for key defense uses.
