A Kharkiv resident is creating the plane of the future: powered by solid-state hydrogen, with vertical takeoff and a range of thousands of kilometers

The plane will be able to take off and land vertically, and cover distances of more than several thousand kilometers. The first tests of the prototype were supposed to take place this year.

Who is the founder?

Oleksiy Popov, founder of Stellar Aircraft, is a native of Kharkiv. He is the son of Viktor Popov, owner of the Kharkiv company FED.

Oleksiy’s Linkedin page indicates that he also worked for this company as the head of the sales department. In addition, in 2020, Oleksiy was the director of the 410 GA Plant in Kyiv.

Oleksiy has a high-quality professional education — he graduated from the Kharkiv Aviation Institute with a degree in «Aviation Engines and Power Plants», and received a management education in the aviation sector in France (Aerospace Master of Business Administration, Toulouse and «Auditor of Quality Management Systems in the Aerospace Industry», Paris). Popov also studied at McGill University in Canada.

First mentions

The first mentions of the air transport of the future appeared in official reports in 2021. Then the Kharkiv administration reported that JSC «FED» had signed contracts with European industrial giants to implement the project, which then had the conditional name «air taxi».

The development of Khai scientists and FED industrialists interested Swiss and Italian companies.

A delegation from the Swiss company Sauber Engineering AG (develops Formula 1 cars for the Mercedes, BMW and Alfa Romeo teams) and Italian diplomats representing the interests of their national manufacturer, the Italian aerospace giant Leonardo SpA, were visiting Kharkiv at that time.

In photos from the meeting, you can see members of the delegation standing next to a photo of a mock-up of an aircraft that resembles a design whose concept would later be presented by the Swiss Sirius Jet, and then by Stellar Aircraft.

Swiss time

«Sirius Aviation AG, founded in Switzerland in 2021 by a family with a rich aviation background and currently managed by a family member with extensive experience as an aeronautical engineer and pilot, is a driving force in the aerospace and aviation sector,» begins an article in a European luxury media outlet called Excellence Magazine. It was published in December 2024.

The article reports that Sirius Aviation AG is working on the world’s first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft in collaboration with BMW Designworks and Sauber Group (whose representatives, as a reminder, came to Kharkiv in 2021).

The text also states that the company has received a number of pre-orders: Indian MEHAIR — for approximately $400 million, PARQ Development — for 10 aircraft along with support services in Bali and the islands of Indonesia, up to $50 million.

The MEHAIR website also mentions a partnership with Sirius.

«This $400M partnership promises to revolutionize India’s aviation, starting in 2027…», the report says .

American beginning

Shortly after these announcements, in January 2025, the Swiss Sirius announced the rebranding and opening of an American company, which became Stellar Aircraft, Inc. (Delaware). The Swiss office remained a key center for global operations and collaboration.

Its main project remained a hydrogen-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

There is an article on the Austin Startups website where Stellar Aircraft, Inc talks about its upcoming jet line:

1. Adventure Jet (6 passengers, 1,150-mile range, cost $9 million),
2. CEO Jet (4 passengers, 2000 miles range, $6 million),
3. demonstration UAV (110 lb payload, 500 mile range, $1 million).

The startup emphasizes that in addition to aviation, it has developed solid-state hydrogen battery technology that redefines energy storage.

According to the startup, this will unlock cross-industry potential in the air mobility market worth $1.5 trillion by 2040.

This article also contains information about investments in the project. It is reported that $16 million has already been raised (1.5 million in deposits for pre-order, 3 million in cash, 11.5 million in services without diluting the founders' share).

In addition, it is said that $40 million was allocated by the «European leader in the aerospace industry, JSC FED» (for some reason it is not stated that this is a Ukrainian company) for a manned demonstration aircraft. Another $600 million is in letters of intent (Asia, India, Australia; orders for up to 20 units).

As the article states, the world’s first unmanned flight on solid hydrogen is planned for the third quarter of 2025.

We have reached out to Stellar Aircraft, Inc. for comment to see if it has already taken place.

And to create a piloted prototype, an initial investment of $10 million is required.

In June, at the Air Show 2025 in Paris, Stellar already announced a solid-state hydrogen storage unit and EDF (electric ducted fan, the successor to the aircraft turbine), which provides 132 kW of power and 1700 N of thrust, weighing only 14.7 kg.

However, we have not yet been able to find any photos of these developments. There is a short video from a year ago on the Stellar Jet YouTube account, which apparently shows EDF production.

So we hope that we will soon be able to contact the American company and get more information.