"The federal government actually wanted to support the Bavarian air taxi manufacturer Lilium. Now it has backed out. Apparently the risk is too great for it.
The Bavarian air taxi manufacturer Lilium cannot now count on any funding from the federal budget after all. The Bavarian state government recently decided to support the company from Oberpfaffenhofen by assuming liability for 50 million euros; but now, according to information from the FAZ, the budget politicians of the Traffic light parties have agreed not to grant the necessary co-financing of 50 million euros from the federal budget in the form of a convertible bond.
The reason given is that Lilium was expected to face a liquidity shortage again within a year at the latest; there were only a few private investors who had shown interest in the product.
"I think it is wrong to help Lilium"
There were considerable reservations among the Traffic light parties about the Guarantee. "I think it is wrong to help Lilium," said the FDP's responsible reporter, Frank Schäffler, to the German Press Agency. The risk for the federal government is far too high. "If Bavaria wants to accept this subsidy, then it should do so alone."
The Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU leader Markus Söder said on Friday before the CSU party conference: "We have asked the Chancellery - it has not yet been finally decided. If that were the case, it would be another case of Bavaria being deliberately disadvantaged."
Without support from the federal government, another new technology would leave the country, while "old technologies" in the north, such as shipyards, would be saved with a lot of money.
That sounded as if Bavaria was not prepared to take the risk alone. He still hopes "that there will be a sensible solution in the end," said Söder.
The Bavarian state government had unanimously decided to assume liability for Lilium just a month ago and praised this as a "forward-looking industrial policy key decision." The Federal Ministry of Transport, led by FDP Minister Volker Wissing, welcomed the decision in Bavaria at the time. "We want to keep this key technology in German hands and prevent it from moving abroad."
However, the Free State tied its support to that of the federal government. Will it stick with it or take the risk alone? Only six months ago, the coalition in Bavaria argued about the flying taxi company Volocopter. To the displeasure of the CSU, the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs and Free Voters leader Hubert Aiwanger refused to provide a guarantee of 50 million euros.
While Aiwanger told the F.A.Z. referring to the risk for the taxpayer, Science Minister Markus Blume of the CSU said: "Strategic industrial policy is a big deal all over the world - only in Germany do people sit back and relax and trust in tried and tested methods." [1]
1. Bund versagt Flugtaxi-Unternehmen 50 Millionen Euro: Bund versagt Flugtaxi-Hersteller 50 Millionen Euro. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Oct 11, 2024. Von Timo Frasch und Rüdiger Soldt
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