AUTOLIV SVERIGE AB

Their core work

Autoliv is a major automotive safety systems manufacturer specializing in occupant protection — seatbelts, airbags, and related restraint systems. Within H2020, they contribute deep domain expertise in crash safety, human body modeling, and injury biomechanics, primarily as a third-party expert supporting research consortia. Their work bridges physical crash testing with virtual safety assessment methods, particularly as the industry shifts toward automated driving scenarios where traditional crash configurations no longer apply.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Autoliv's H2020 trajectory shows a clear shift from passive to proactive safety. Their early involvement (2015–2016) centered on traditional occupant protection for specific populations (older road users in SENIORS) and environmental sensing (DENSE). By 2018–2023, their focus moved decisively toward virtual assessment tools, advanced human body models, and safety systems designed for automated driving — reflecting the automotive industry's broader transformation toward autonomous vehicles where crash scenarios are fundamentally different from conventional driving.

Autoliv is positioning itself at the intersection of passive safety hardware and virtual simulation for autonomous vehicles — expect continued focus on digital safety validation tools.

How they like to work

Autoliv operates almost exclusively as a third-party expert rather than a direct consortium member or coordinator, contributing specialized industrial knowledge without taking on project management responsibilities. With 58 unique partners across 12 countries from just 4 projects, they participate in large, well-funded consortia where their role is to provide real-world safety expertise and testing capabilities. This pattern suggests a company that selectively engages in research where results directly inform their product development, rather than pursuing EU funding as a revenue stream.

Despite only 4 projects, Autoliv has touched 58 unique partners across 12 countries — a result of joining large transport safety consortia. Their network is concentrated in European automotive R&D hubs, connecting them to major OEMs, tier-1 suppliers, and vehicle safety research institutes.

What sets them apart

Autoliv brings something rare to research consortia: the perspective of a global Tier-1 automotive safety supplier with direct product deployment at scale. While universities and research institutes develop safety models and simulations, Autoliv can validate findings against real production constraints and crash test data. For any consortium working on vehicle safety, occupant protection, or automated driving risk assessment, Autoliv offers an immediate bridge from research to industrial application.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OSCCAR
  Directly addresses the unsolved problem of occupant safety in automated vehicles — combining advanced human body modeling with virtual assessment for crash scenarios that don't yet exist in real-world data.
• SAFE-UP
  Focuses on proactive safety systems for evolving road environments, representing the shift from reactive crash protection to predictive safety — a key industry frontier.
• DENSE
  Their only non-crash-safety project, showing capability in environmental sensing systems — a critical enabler for autonomous driving in real-world conditions.