LYTE Aviation’s Freshta Farzam brings a realistic vision for hydrogen-powered flight
15/09/2025
At this year’s Aerospace Test & Development Show, Freshta Farzam, CEO and founder of LYTE Aviation, will deliver a presentation exploring one of the most ambitious concepts in advanced air mobility: the feasibility of a 40-seater hybrid hydrogen eVTOL.
Farzam founded LYTE Aviation with a clear mission. “In the last five years I started with that vision of understanding what’s going on in the market and then I had to build this aircraft,” she explained. “We have expanded our team, secured strategic partners, and are already in talks with customers, investors, and governments to make sure that the SkyBus happens.”
Central to her presentation is the question of whether today’s technology can support such a large-scale eVTOL. Farzam believes the answer lies in hybrid propulsion. “When we build it, I wanted to make sure that the tech we use is available today. That’s why we chose hybrid hydrogen-electric technology,” she said. “Anyone who says they can go more than five or six passengers fully battery electric, that’s not happening with today’s battery technology. Batteries are too inefficient still, for us to go fully hydrogen, Hydrogen tanks are too heavy, and fuel cells are not efficient enough to carry more than 10 people taking off vertically. That’s why we had to combine combustion engines, turboprops, and electric engines. With that mix, it becomes realistic and feasible.”
LYTE Aviation’s tilt-wing design draws inspiration from the 1950s Fairey Rotodyne, which carried 40 passengers and took off from rooftops in London. “If we were able to do it 70 years ago, I know with the tech we have today, we can pull it off,” she said. “But we need to make sure it fits within a framework of the doable.”
Scaling to 40 passengers, Farzam argues, is not a technical impossibility but an opportunity. “We didn’t come as a first mover crashing into the market. Two- and four-seater air taxis opened the gates for us. Infrastructure is already being prepared for them, and now we are building relationships with governments and infrastructure partners to ensure vertiports fit and are ready also for our SkyBus.”
For Farzam, the project is also personal. “I wanted to push the boundaries of what people think is possible. A SkyBus doesn’t just carry 40 passengers, it can also be configured as a 4.5-ton cargo SkyTruck. That’s impactful for the world.”
Her message to the aerospace industry is one of courage and conviction. “Too often we overthink ideas and end up killing them before they even have a chance to grow. My belief is that we should flip that mindset: instead of asking, what if it fails?, we should ask, what if it works? Innovation comes step by step, each challenge solved brings us closer to the goal. We’ve seen it with cars, with smartphones, and with aviation in the past. The leap from horses to cars felt impossible once, and today almost every household has multiple vehicles. The same transformation is possible in aviation if we dare to trust our vision and execute it. To my fellow professionals, I would say: don’t just dream, choose to believe in those dreams, and then take the practical steps to bring them to life. Because the industry, the passengers, and the world are ready for it.”
Session: Is a 40 seater hybrid hydrogen eVTOL realistic with today’s tech?
Date: Tuesday 30th September
Time: 1:20 PM - 1:50 PM
Central to her presentation is the question of whether today’s technology can support such a large-scale eVTOL. Farzam believes the answer lies in hybrid propulsion. “When we build it, I wanted to make sure that the tech we use is available today. That’s why we chose hybrid hydrogen-electric technology,” she said. “Anyone who says they can go more than five or six passengers fully battery electric, that’s not happening with today’s battery technology. Batteries are too inefficient still, for us to go fully hydrogen, Hydrogen tanks are too heavy, and fuel cells are not efficient enough to carry more than 10 people taking off vertically. That’s why we had to combine combustion engines, turboprops, and electric engines. With that mix, it becomes realistic and feasible.”
LYTE Aviation’s tilt-wing design draws inspiration from the 1950s Fairey Rotodyne, which carried 40 passengers and took off from rooftops in London. “If we were able to do it 70 years ago, I know with the tech we have today, we can pull it off,” she said. “But we need to make sure it fits within a framework of the doable.”
Scaling to 40 passengers, Farzam argues, is not a technical impossibility but an opportunity. “We didn’t come as a first mover crashing into the market. Two- and four-seater air taxis opened the gates for us. Infrastructure is already being prepared for them, and now we are building relationships with governments and infrastructure partners to ensure vertiports fit and are ready also for our SkyBus.”
For Farzam, the project is also personal. “I wanted to push the boundaries of what people think is possible. A SkyBus doesn’t just carry 40 passengers, it can also be configured as a 4.5-ton cargo SkyTruck. That’s impactful for the world.”
Her message to the aerospace industry is one of courage and conviction. “Too often we overthink ideas and end up killing them before they even have a chance to grow. My belief is that we should flip that mindset: instead of asking, what if it fails?, we should ask, what if it works? Innovation comes step by step, each challenge solved brings us closer to the goal. We’ve seen it with cars, with smartphones, and with aviation in the past. The leap from horses to cars felt impossible once, and today almost every household has multiple vehicles. The same transformation is possible in aviation if we dare to trust our vision and execute it. To my fellow professionals, I would say: don’t just dream, choose to believe in those dreams, and then take the practical steps to bring them to life. Because the industry, the passengers, and the world are ready for it.”
Session: Is a 40 seater hybrid hydrogen eVTOL realistic with today’s tech?
Date: Tuesday 30th September
Time: 1:20 PM - 1:50 PM