An undated handout picture from Munich flying taxi startup Lilium shows its five-seater prototype in Munich, Germany, October, 2019. Lilium/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
PARIS: German aviation firm Lilium and Swiss-based nickel refinery company KL1 will set up new sites in France representing a combined investment of €700mil (US$754mil), French finance minister Bruno Le Maire says.
Lilium will invest €400mil in a new factory that will create up to 850 new jobs. KL1’s new site in Blanquefort, near Bordeaux, will amount to an investment of €300mil, creating 200 new jobs, Le Maire said.
The precise site of the new Lilium plant, which will be a factory to help produce electric jet aircraft, is yet to be finalised although it will be in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region.
The deals come as president Emmanuel Macron prepared to kick off the country’s annual “Choose France” business summit, aimed at attracting foreign investments into the country.
“Choose France brings in capital, Choose France brings in new technologies, Choose France helps us plug holes in gaps on certain value chains,” said Le Maire. — Reuters
