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Olivia Sainsbury, CEO, Boss n Queen | Head of Global Distribution, Stellar Aircraft
Australia has made a clear strategic call: hydrogen will be a pillar of its future energy system.
The National Hydrogen Strategy positions Australia to become a global hydrogen leader by 2030, with domestic production scaling throughout this decade. That is no longer theoretical. Hydrogen is already available today at pilot and early commercial scale across multiple regions.
For aviation, however, the question is not whether hydrogen arrives — but whether aircraft can operate during the rollout, rather than waiting for fully built-out infrastructure.
Many hydrogen aviation concepts assume a future where airports are equipped with dedicated refuelling systems. That assumption risks delaying deployment by years and misaligns with the government’s sequencing of hydrogen development.
Stellar Jet was designed around a different premise: aviation must align with policy reality, not idealised infrastructure timelines.
Rather than relying on airport-based hydrogen refuelling, Stellar Jet operates exclusively using a proprietary solid-state hydrogen energy system. Hydrogen is stored in solid form, at very low operating pressures, and can be fuelled off-site, transported using standard logistics, and installed directly into the aircraft.
This decouples aircraft operations from fixed infrastructure and allows hydrogen-powered aviation to begin now, not at some future point when every airport has caught up.
That matters because Australia’s hydrogen strategy rightly prioritises production scale-up first, with distribution and point-of-use infrastructure expanding progressively. Aviation that depends on fixed refuelling is out of step with that approach.
Solid-state hydrogen changes the equation.
Because hydrogen does not need to be produced at the point of flight, aircraft can operate wherever hydrogen is produced — near renewable generation, industrial hubs or regional centres — and have that hydrogen safely transported to them.
This is particularly relevant in regions such as Gippsland, where offshore wind, renewable energy, hydrogen production and industrial transition are converging. Gippsland is emerging as a nationally significant energy precinct, yet — like many regional areas — it cannot wait for aviation infrastructure to be comprehensively rebuilt before participating in the hydrogen economy.
Aircraft that can operate without fixed refuelling infrastructure allow regions like Gippsland to engage immediately, supporting regional connectivity, industrial access, workforce mobility and emergency services while hydrogen supply chains mature.
Stellar Jet also reflects the operational diversity of Australia’s aviation market. It is a dual-mode aircraft, capable of vertical take-off and landing from remote, industrial or government sites, while also operating as a conventional jet from existing airports. Both modes are powered by the same solid-state hydrogen system.
Crucially, the aircraft does not require redesign as hydrogen standards evolve. It can operate using hydrogen available today, scale alongside increasing production, and ultimately align with certified green hydrogen as supply chains mature.
Hydrogen aviation will not succeed by waiting for perfect conditions.
It will succeed by flying during the transition.
Australia is scaling hydrogen this decade. Regions like Gippsland will be central to that effort — and aircraft that can operate safely, flexibly and commercially within this reality will define the next era of aviation.
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