Aerospace company Kelluu, named for a Finnish word that translates to “floats” in English, registered to lobby 41 departments and agencies of the federal government last week to promote its technology.

The company produces hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicles that look like small blimps.

According to Kelluu’s website, its airships are distinct from other aerial monitoring technologies. The low-altitude aircraft can provide clearer pictures compared with distant satellites, and can operate for 12 straight hours, a significantly longer flight time than drones, while also not needing an on-site pilot, as drones often do.

Uses for the aircraft are numerous, from observation and research to defence intelligence collection. The company wants Ottawa to use its products in Canadian airspace skies for wildfire detection and response, weather monitoring, defence research and border control, agricultural and fisheries data collection, mining surveys and more.

Its technology is catching on beyond Canada. It received 15 million euro (C$24,380,850) in seed funding in April, and the round was led by the NATO Innovation Fund, a venture fund backed by 24 NATO allies, to build and develop a 24/7 surveillance system, which could eventually be used in Europe.

Kelluu was part of Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s delegation when he visited Canada in April.

During the visit, Stubb and Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a joint statement promising to collaborate on defence, maritime and AI initiatives.

AI is used in the piloting and data analysis of the Kelluu ships, so the company’s registration also covers Canada’s new AI strategy and data privacy, including aligning its technology with Canada’s “artificial intelligence strategy and data sovereignty policies,” including data governance.

In NATO exercises in February, the Kelluu system demonstrated it could quickly integrate with the Maven Smart System, a surveillance technology used by some NATO allies that is made by the controversial data firm Palantir.

The IJF recently reported Palantir had received a secret contract from the Canadian government for that same technology, which ballooned in value from an initial price tag of $14 million to more than $40 million over five years.

Kelluu did not respond to the IJF's request for comment.

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