Aerospace tooling specialist Dedienne Aerospace has signed a licensing agreement with electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft developer Lilium covering tooling required in production and maintenance operations for its Lilium Jet.
Under the terms of the agreement, signed at EBACE 2024 in Geneva, Dedienne Aerospace will undertake the engineering, manufacturing and distribution of specialized tooling essential for production and maintenance of Lilium’s electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Dedienne Aerospace also will play a strategic role in the commercial rollout of Lilium’s eVTOLs, ensuring optimal operational performance.
Dedienne Aerospace’s Program Director, Guillaume Justamon, says the company will support Lilium’s engineering, production ramp-up and ground equipment availability for every flight and location. “We share many values with the Lilium team: entrepreneurship, flight safety and net zero carbon trajectory,” says Justamon. “Lilium [is] building a new aviation industry with a bright future and the Lilium Jet will offer new user experiences for the regional mobility.”
Lilium expects to receive the first tools soon, in time for its upcoming ground tests. The company began construction of an advanced test facility for integration and certification testing of the Lilium Jet earlier this month. Located at Lilium’s headquarters near Munich, the facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of summer 2024.
Earlier this year, Lilium announced a customer service organization called Power-On that will offer a range of services including training, maintenance, ground service equipment, and material and battery management. It is working with a variety of aftermarket partners, including Lufthansa Aviation Training and FlightSafety International for pilot and technician training, Palantir for digital predictive maintenance and AJW Group for spares inventory management.
Lilium’s Chief Commercial Officer, Sebastien Borel, recently spoke to Inside MRO about the company’s expectations for maintenance infrastructure and turnarounds. He noted that the Lilium Jet will not require external thermal management systems due to its incorporated cooling system for batteries, so it will only need a charging station that could be installed in existing infrastructure. He estimated that regional flights will likely take around 30-45 min., which would provide time to perform line maintenance services such as inspections.
Dedienne Aerospace’s facilities and service centers are located in key regions where Lilium’s eVTOLs will launch operations, which it says will facilitate smooth and efficient service delivery worldwide.
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