Sener has delivered the first servo-actuators for testing for the Lilium Jet

Sener, an industrial engineering and technology group, intends to supply Lilium, a German company that develops a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, and a pioneer in regional air mobility, servo-actuators for its future aircraft intended for passenger transport.

Servo-actuators are critical devices for the operation of the eVTOL. Their purpose will be to rotate the 30 electric propellers installed on each Lilium Jet, allowing it to transition from vertical flight mode (during landing and take-off) to horizontal flight and vice versa. To perform their function, servo-actuators require extreme response speeds and performance, similar to those used in space missions and systems, a field in which Sener has considerable experience.

Each Lilium Jet is expected to feature 16 servo-actuators designed and manufactured by Sener in Spain. The company has already delivered the first units for testing and plans to deliver a total of 104 in 2024 for the Lilium Jet’s ground testing and certification flight phases. Later, Sener will provide servo-actuators for the serial production of the Lilium Jet.

Iñaki Pinto, Electro-Mechanical Systems Division Director at Sener, noted that “We are glad that a company as innovative as Lilium trusts us to make its vision of creating a new model of regional air mobility. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Lilium, with whom we share innovation and excellence as values. We will make available to Lilium our accumulated experience in the field of rotary actuators for the aerospace market, as demonstrated, for example, by our participation in the development of the Earth Return Orbiter of NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission, or the European Space Agency’s CIMR (Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer) mission to observe the temperature, salinity, and concentration of sea ice, among other projects”.

Martin Schuebel, Senior Vice President of Procurement at Lilium, highlights: “Servo-actuators are a very important device for the technology of our Lilium Jets and crucial for the aircraft´s transition from vertical to horizontal flight. We are happy to work with Sener as we value their experience with rotary actuators and appreciate the professional cooperation with their dedicated team.”