Toray Industries has concluded an agreement with Lilium GmbH to supply carbon fibre composite materials for the Lilium Jet, the Munich-based company’s all-electric, vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which will deliver clean, regional air mobility as early as 2025.

Regional air mobility could help reduce traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution in crowded cities. Accordingly, entities around the world are developing airframes and operational systems for air taxi services, governments are working on regulatory frameworks, and Lilium is spearheading the quest to manufacture air vehicles and develop and commercialise services.

Carbon fibre composite materials are vital to lighten such vehicles as the Lilium Jet, Toray explains. Toray says it is deepening ties with Lilium and other manufacturers while continuing to innovate materials that contribute to progress with these transportation platforms by enhancing performance, conserving energy, and lowering costs. The Lilium Jet will take up to four passengers and its pilot a distance of 300 kilometres in less than 60 minutes. Its fuselage, wings, rotor vanes, and other structural components will employ carbon fibre composite materials.

Under the Medium-Term Management Program, Project AP-G 2022, announced in May this year, Toray’s Carbon Fiber Composite Materials business seeks to strategically expand its operational infrastructure for urban air mobility applications. Toray aims to help resolve urban environmental issues by developing materials that cater to the unique challenges of air vehicles. The company says it will keep leveraging the power of materials to change the world by strengthening collaboration among group companies while catering swiftly to market needs.

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