Skyward prevents wildfire ignition caused by lightning by combining proprietary AI weather modelling with aerial intervention methods. Its platform predicts high-risk storms and lightning events likely to spark fires, then safely neutralizes electrical potential to reduce cloud-to-ground strikes. By stopping wildfires at their source, Skyward helps protect communities and natural resources while reducing economic losses and giving fire management teams more time to respond.
In 2023, lightning caused 59% of all wildfires in Canada (70% in BC) and was responsible for 93% of the total area burned nationwide (92% in BC). Those fires released an estimated 2.4 gigatonnes of CO₂e—three times the emissions of the entire Canadian economy. Governments are already straining to manage wildfire-related expenditures; BC alone spent approximately $1 billion fighting fires in 2023, its most expensive season on record.
Skyward addresses the root cause of the most destructive wildfire in Canada: lightning. Its breakthrough prevention technology stops ignitions before they occur, protecting communities, critical infrastructure, and forests. NorthX’s investment will accelerate the deployment of a globally scalable lightning prevention system leveraging modular hardware automation, positioning Canada at the forefront of wildfire mitigation innovation. This project will advance Skyward’s hardware to TRL 9, enabling reliable, targeted lightning prevention at scale across Canada and internationally
