July kicked off with the last edition of the “FIRE-RES Innovation Days” series: an event designed to promote cutting-edge innovation to prevent and tackle wildfires, as well as an opportunity for the FIRE-RES community of innovators to network, connect with investors, and showcase solutions for more fire-resilient landscapes.
The day opened with a welcome and local insights provided by Anna Sanitjas Olea, who heads the Technical Office for Municipal Forest Fire Prevention and Agricultural Development at the Diputació de Barcelona.
The first segment of the event consisted of a workshop entitled “Putting Our Heads Together: Using Data to Create Impact in Wildfire Risk Mitigation and Management”, which brought participants together for an engaging and collaborative session. The workshop explored different perspectives on the provision and use of data in managing wildfire risks. Representatives from FAO, JRC, Geo Knowledge Hub, Airbus, SDIS40, and EFI delivered a series of impulse presentations, covering topics such as international efforts to maximise the impact of data use in this field, the state of data provision in Europe and beyond, mechanisms to make data accessible to innovators. Opportunities and challenges faced by private sector companies in this area, first responders’ need for actionable information, and the necessity to broaden the scope of data provision were discussed too. The session continued with a guided co-creation activity involving the audience, focused on generating ideas for matching data supply to demand, developing products and business models, and fostering collaboration between data providers, users and innovators.
The afternoon was devoted to a large number of pitch presentations, offering an opportunity to meet the innovators behind cutting-edge technologies addressing wildfire risks and impacts.
Session I: Wildfire preparedness and impact mitigation
This session highlighted a variety of approaches to managing resources and assets in wildfire contexts, showcasing data-driven innovations and a mix of technological, natural, and social solutions. The presentations spanned the full wildfire management cycle, from preparedness and prevention to recovery and rehabilitation. This first session brought forward eight highly diverse and promising solutions, ranging from LiDAR-based forest mapping, AI-powered fire prevention tools, real-time fuel moisture monitoring, and HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) technologies, to nature-based infrastructure protection, online training platforms, and advanced fire risk modelling systems.
A diverse set of pitches combined innovations from within the FIRE-RES project, associated with it via Open Innovation Challenge-selected solutions and third parties active in the field offered a broad perspective, creating an opportunity for exchange beyond the immediate scope of the project. Among the featured pitches presented were the FIRE-RES Innovation Actions, including Airbus’s HAPS, ICGC’s vegetation characterization and Technosylva’s modelling and risk assessments, alongside OIC innovators MEJOR Technologies, Hoze Solutions, and TEP. Other innovation pitches were presented by Arbonaut Ltd and Víctor Resco de Dios (University of Lleida).
Session II: “Wildfire Response: Data-Driven Solutions to Aid and Improve Suppression Operations and Other Response Activities”.
The innovations presented in the second pitching session leverage data to enhance wildfire response, including activities such as monitoring, detection, and real-time decision support.
Several innovations developed within the FIRE-RES framework were showcased, in particular, Innovation Actions from INESC TEC, Technosylva, and CSIC. These were presented alongside OIC-selected solutions such as EmberEye, Robotics Cats LookOut, Umgrauemeio – Pantera and Dryad Networks project.
In addition to each other’s probing questions, feedback and exploration of partnership opportunities, the presenters received valuable comments and practical advice from a venture financing perspective, with a focus on credentials that most attract the interest of investors. All this sets the solution providers up well to pursue their innovation and entrepreneurial endeavours in the field of wildfire risk mitigation and management beyond the FIRE-RES project.
The day concluded with closing remarks by Pau Brunet (CTFC) and Adrian Cardil (Technosylva), who reflected on the future steps needed to take wildfire management to the next level. On this occasion, the importance of a more collective response was emphasized, as well as the strategic value of such events in strengthening relationships and sharing knowledge to foster a more coordinated and integrated approach. Finally, participants moved from formal presentations to informal networking, which took place in the context of ‘hands-on’ showcasing stations that allowed participants to further explore selected wildfire solutions and engage directly with the innovators developing them.
