DAFO BRAND AKTIEBOLAG

Their core work

DAFO Brand is a Swedish fire safety company specializing in automatic fire suppression systems, with a focused R&D track record in lithium-ion battery fires for electric and hybrid vehicles. Through two successive EU-funded projects, they developed and scaled a proprietary early warning and suppression system — first for passenger EVs and HEVs, then for electric buses. Their work bridges fire protection engineering and the specific thermal runaway risks of high-voltage battery packs in transport applications. As a company with the SME instrument behind them, they appear to be a product-oriented fire safety firm bringing commercial solutions to market rather than a research lab.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2015), DAFO focused on fire suppression for privately owned electric and hybrid vehicles — a broad initial market entry point for EV battery safety. By their second project (2018–2019), the scope had sharpened considerably toward electric buses, a high-value public transport segment where fire risk carries severe consequences and regulatory scrutiny is intense. This shift from consumer EVs to fleet-operated public transit vehicles suggests a deliberate commercial strategy: targeting operators and municipalities with large, standardized fleets rather than individual vehicle owners.

DAFO appears to be moving toward fleet and public transport operators as their primary market, which suggests future collaboration interest likely lies in smart city transport infrastructure, battery safety standards, and e-mobility fleet management rather than consumer automotive.

How they like to work

DAFO has operated exclusively as project coordinator in both H2020 engagements, using the SME Instrument — a funding scheme designed for single companies developing their own innovations. This means they have not built a visible consortium network through these projects; both were effectively solo company-led efforts. For potential partners, this signals an organization that is self-directed and commercially driven, but may be open to integration partnerships with vehicle manufacturers, battery suppliers, or transport operators at the application level.

DAFO's H2020 record shows no registered consortium partners across either project, consistent with the SME Instrument format where the applicant company is the sole beneficiary. Their collaboration network, if any, is not visible through EU project data.

What sets them apart

DAFO is one of very few fire safety SMEs in Europe with a documented, EU-funded R&D track record specifically in lithium-ion battery fire suppression for electric transport — a niche that is growing fast as EV adoption accelerates and fire incidents attract regulatory attention. Unlike academic groups working on battery chemistry or thermal modeling, DAFO brings an engineering product perspective: automated, deployable systems designed for real operating environments. For a consortium needing a fire safety specialist with direct EV battery experience, they are a rare find at SME scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LiionFire
  The largest of their two projects at over €1M EC funding, this SME Phase 2 award represents a full commercial development effort for an automated fire suppression system for electric buses — a high-stakes, high-visibility transport safety application.
• Li-IonFire
  This SME Phase 1 feasibility project (2015) was the foundational proof-of-concept for their battery fire suppression technology, preceding the larger Phase 2 by three years and covering both HEV and EV vehicle types.