This startup claims it can stop lightning and prevent catastrophic wildfires | MIT Technology Review
▻https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/03/03/1133848/this-startup-claims-it-can-stop-lightning-and-prevent-catastrophic
https://wp.technologyreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-144817694.jpg?resize=1200,600 Startup Skyward Wildfire says it can prevent catastrophic fires by stopping the lightning strikes that ignite them. So far, it hasn’t publicly revealed how it does so, but online documents suggest the company is relying on an approach the US government began evaluating in the early 1960s: seeding clouds with metallic chaff, or narrow fiberglass strands coated with aluminum.
It just raised millions of dollars to accelerate its product development and expand its operations. But researchers and environmental observers say uncertainties remain, including how well the seeding may work under varying conditions, how much material would need to be released, how frequently it would have to be done, and what sorts of secondary environmental impacts might result.