Lilium partners with Honeywell Aerospace and Denso to develop and manufacture electric motor for Lilium Jet
Lilium has partnered with Honeywell Aerospace and Denso to develop and manufacture the Lilium Jet’s electric motor (e‑motor) that will power the Lilium Jet’s engines.
Honeywell, an aerospace technology leader with over 100 years of experience, invested in Lilium in 2021 and is already developing the Lilium Jet’s avionics and flight control systems.
Honeywell also has an alliance with automotive giant Denso to develop aerospace electric propulsion solutions through which Lilium Jet’s proprietary e‑motor will benefit from Denso’s experience in high-quality volume production.
Lilium, Denso and Honeywell have been working for nearly two years on Lilium’s zero emission air-cooled e‑motor design, which offers structural simplicity and ease of maintenance compared with traditional liquid cooling systems.
The radial configuration of the e‑motor’s rotor and stator lowers component weight to just over 4kg, while the power density of the first prototype produces over 100kW.
Lilium chief operating officer Yves Yemsi said: “Lilium’s procurement strategy is to engage with the technology providers with the most suitable expertise, and we are already making great progress with Honeywell’s Anthem integrated flight deck and flight control computers.
Honeywell Aerospace vice president and general manager of urban air mobility Stéphane Fymat said: “Honeywell will collaborate with Denso to bring about cleaner, more sustainable ways for people to travel for centuries to come.”
Denso senior director of the electric Sora-Mobi business promotion department Koji Ishizuka said: “Denso is powering the shift to a green, safe and seamless mobility future for all.
“We are grateful to work with Honeywell and Lilium on making air travel cleaner and more efficient, and in doing so, we have the opportunity to apply our electrification expertise to vehicles on land and in the sky.”
In June last year, Lilium chose Honeywell to develop the avionics and flight control systems for its seven-seater eVTOL aircraft, when Honeywell announced it would invest in the German startup.
Honeywell’s fly-by-wire system will control the Lilium Jet’s moving parts, including 36 control surfaces and ducted fans to provide high manoeuverability at every stage of flight.
Before that, in May 2021, Denso signed an agreement with Honeywell to develop new electric propulsion units for the urban air mobility market, following on from an initial collaboration signed back in 2019.
