"LONDON. The British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has abandoned its plans for electric drive systems for aircraft. The electric division for "Advanced Air Mobility" is being closed, the company announced in a one-line note in a trading update. It did not publish any details. CEO Tufan Erginbilgic announced last year that the business area would be sold, but the group found no interested parties. This means that the plans for a purely electric drive for electric flying taxis, for example, have been buried. Development work for a hybrid drive is to continue, however.
Three years ago, Rolls-Royce proudly announced several world records with its electrically powered aircraft Spirit of Innovation. According to the company, the electric aircraft achieved a top speed of 623 kilometers per hour and was able to climb to 3000 meters in 202 seconds - technically impressive achievements. The then CEO Warren East was enthusiastic about the electric motor projects and had bought Siemens' electric flight division with 180 engineers and designers in 2019.
But his successor Erginbilgic publicly expressed doubts about the timelines and costs for developing the batteries and motors. At the end of 2023, Rolls-Royce stopped its financial and technical support for the start-up Vertical Aerospace, which was funded with British taxpayers' money. This Bristol-based company is trying to launch a four-seater electric vertical take-off aircraft (eVTOL) called the VX4 as a flying taxi. Rolls-Royce had taken over the design of the electric propulsion system. According to a contractual agreement, the engine company paid Vertical Aerospace $34 million (€32 million) for its withdrawal.
The Bristol-based start-up is currently struggling with acute liquidity problems. According to media reports, the founder, Stephen Fitzpatrick, and Mudrick Capital, the largest creditor, plan to hold crisis talks this weekend. According to a report by the website Flightglobal, the New York investment firm Mudrick has offered capital injections of 75 million dollars - two-thirds from external investors - in exchange for shares and guarantees, but Fitzpatrick has so far rejected this. Without fresh cash, things could get tight. In Germany, the flying taxi developer Lilium recently went bankrupt and is currently looking for new investors.
According to the trading update, Rolls-Royce made the decision to close the "Advanced Air Mobility" division in September. At the Farnborough Air Show in July, the group published an interview with the head of products and strategy in the AAM department, who expressed optimism at the time. According to him, estimates show that by 2035, up to 25,000 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) could be in use worldwide." [1]
1. Rolls-Royce beerdigt E-Flugzeug: Der britische Konzern schließt die Sparte. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 09 Nov 2024: 22.
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