Technical University of Munich-backed Lilium, a flying car developer, has secured funding from VC firm Atomico as it looks to start flight tests in early 2017.

Lilium Aviation, a Germany-based, Technical University of Munich (TUM)-backed developer of two-seat flying cars that take off and land vertically, collected €10m ($10.8m) in series A funding yesterday from investment firm Atomico.

A repeat investor, Atomico committed a smaller, undisclosed sum to Lilium in June 2016.

Established in 2015 by four aerospace engineers and product designers from TUM, Lilium launched with support from intergovernmental organisation European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre in Bavaria, where it is currently housed.

The aerospace startup is developing Lilium Jet, a lightweight, capsule-shaped two-passenger pod powered by 36 electric fans mounted along the wings and front end of the aircraft. Built to ferry commuters into and around city centres, Lilium Jet’s vertical take-off and landing feature means it can fly without the infrastructure typically needed by conventional airplanes, such as extensive runways. 

The energy-efficient aircraft is designed to generate little noise, making it suitable for commuting to and from residential areas. 

The series A funding will go towards recruitment as the company prepares for a prototype to carry out flight tests early next year. Niklas Zennström, founder and CEO of Atomico, will join Lilium;s board of directors.

Lilium has raised capital from a variety of sources. German entrepreneur Frank Thelen, founder of document scanner app ScanBot, and his VC firm E42 provided an unspecified amount of seed funding. Unternehmertum, the Centre for Innovation and Business Creation at TUM, is another backer.

Other partners that have supported Lilium include Climate-KIC, a public-private partnership set up in 2010 by EU body European Institute of Innovation and Technology, to commercialise climate change-related innovations.

Daniel Wiegand, Lilium CEO, said: “When we founded Lilium we had a single, simple goal – to design the best possible means of transportation for the 21st century.

“With our technology we can triple the radius of people’s lives while preserving our environment, avoiding congestion and eliminating the cost of infrastructure. We can also flexibly connect whole states to single metropolitan areas.”

 – This article originally appeared on our sister site Global Government Venturing.