PROGRAM: Wednesday November 15th

Industries key to Europe’s prosperity and climate objectives use materials and processes which can pose inherent fire risks. These must be addressed for these industries to be competitive, sustainable, resilient and accepted by society.
The proposed EU Critical Raw Materials Act aims to ensure the future of industry sectors identified by the EU as “Strategic” for sustainability and resilience: batteries and renewable energies, data and electronics.

This session will look at the specific fire risks posed by these strategic sectors, as seen in increasing reports of fires in e.g. EV’s, batteries, photovoltaics, wind turbines, data centres, and their consequences. Also trends for fire risk impacting all three of these strategic sectors will be considered, both causes of fire (high electrical currents, increasing energy concentration, ubiquitous and permanent power connections) and flammability of necessary materials (polymers and composites needed for reduced weight, complex design, miniaturisation, electrical insulation, data and power cable safety).

• Why is fire safety important for strategic industry sectors?
• Megatrends and Fire Safety – Internet of Things and E-Mobility
• 3D Printed Fire-Retardant Materials: Opportunities and Challenges
• Testing Challenges in Fire Safety
• Fire Safety and EV
• The importance of fire safety in E&E-Products for the All-Electric Society

Taking stock of fire safety progress at the EU level. What next EP and EC should do for improving fire safety in Europe?

While fire safety of buildings is a national competence, it is impacted by and impacts many EU policies and initiatives, especially those related to ongoing energy transition. That is why EU institutions can and have a strategic interest to facilitate improvements in fire safety through specific projects and activities as well as to coordinate action with Member States to ensure the fire safety risk is not hindering the objectives of the EU policies.

Recent years have resulted in rising fire safety awareness among decision makers and in intensification of discussions, initiatives and activities aimed in putting fire safety higher at the EU agenda to improve fire safety across the EU as well as better contribute to the implementation of the European Fire Safety Action Plan.

The approaching end of the term of office of the European Parliament and the European Commission encourages reflection and attracts for taking stock of fire safety progress at the EU level and to consider what next EP and the EC should do for improving fire safety in Europe?

Members of European Parliament, European Commission officials, representatives from Council presidency and upcoming presidency, Perm Reps and key fire safety stakeholders will be invited to the discussion.

This meeting is co-organized by: European Fire Safety Alliance (EuroFSA), Forum for European Electrical Domestic Safety (FEEDS), Europacable, European Fire Sprinkler Network, Fire Safe Europe (FSEU), Modern Building Alliance (MBA), Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring (CoGDEM), Euralarm, EUROLUX, BSEF, pinfa, European Association for Passive Fire Protection.

Due to the limited number of seats, participation is by invitation only. Discussions are ongoing with Parliament regarding online steaming possibilities.