Innovation in firefighting: The EPO and INPI Portugal host exhibition in Sintra

• “Technology vs fire: inventions helping us build a better world” is a European exhibition arriving now in Portugal
• The initiative focuses on technologies in fire detection and prevention, fire extinguishing, protective equipment and post-fire restauration

Lisbon/Munich, 15 May 2026 – Wildfires are an increasing threat to people, property and the planet. In recent years, several European countries, including Portugal, have experienced severe wildfire seasons, with large areas affected by fire. Against this backdrop, innovation can help strengthen prevention, preparedness, and response.

To face this challenge, firefighters, inventors, research institutes and organisations around the world have been developing and patenting firefighting innovations. To showcase these innovations, the European Patent Office (EPO), in cooperation with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI Portugal), has opened the exhibition “Technology vs fire: inventions helping us build a better world” that can be visited in Air Museum (Museu do Ar), Sintra, from 15 May and running until 29 May. It offers an interactive, immersive presentation of cutting‑edge technologies drawn from patent information and technical expertise as well as inspiring and touching real-life experiences of Portuguese firefighters and technology developers bringing the urgency of firefighting and the role of technology in it to life. This marks the third edition of the initiative, following successful exhibitions held in Greece and Slovenia in 2024.

The exhibition, organised with the cooperation of the Liga dos Bombeiros Portugueses (the Portuguese Firefighters Association), will be open to visitors for two weeks. It focuses on four main areas: detection and prevention, fire extinguishing, protective equipment and post-fire restoration.

“With the United Nations projecting a 30% rise in wildfires by 2050, the challenge we face is both global and long‑term,” said EPO President António Campinos. “Addressing it requires collaboration grounded in knowledge and innovation. By sharing the technical information contained in patents, initiatives such as this exhibition help turn ideas into practical solutions that can make a real difference on the ground.”

“According to the study we carried out with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, published in 2022, more than 3,000 patent documents directly related to rural wildfire management were published worldwide between 2010 and 2021, showing very significant growth over the past decade,” INPI President of the Directive Council, Ana Bandeira remarked. “These data reveal the rapid pace of innovation in this field. However, they also show that there is still ground to cover, particularly in strengthening the protection of these inventions, ensuring that the knowledge generated translates into economic and social value. INPI has been reinforcing its commitment to the promotion of industrial property as a strategic instrument supporting innovation, sustainable development and the competitiveness of our country.”

“This partnership between the European Patent Office and the INPI is a concrete example of how European cooperation delivers results with tangible impact,” said the Portuguese Deputy Minister of Justice, Gonçalo da Cunha Pires. “Portugal has been increasing the number of patents in this field, a clear indication that our scientific and technological community is at the forefront of innovation in fire prevention and suppression. Patents are not merely technical documents; they are instruments of progress and of safeguarding the public interest.”

Exhibition details

Tuesday-Sunday: 10.00 - 17.00 hrs 

Air Museum (Museu do Ar)
Granja do Marquês
2715-021 Pêro Pinheiro

An open firefighting knowledge database

Many of the technologies featured in the exhibition are grounded in patent applications filed in the field of forest firefighting. In particular, between 2016 and 2025, a total of 78 European patent applications were filed at the European Patent Office in this highly specialised field, covering technologies for wildfire detection, prevention and response. 

These and can be explored via the EPO’s Firefighting Technology Platform, which provides structured access to worldwide patent‑based technical knowledge across key areas such as detection and prevention, fire extinguishing, protective equipment and post‑fire restoration. The platform is continuously updated and enables users to navigate concrete technological solutions and innovation activity based on patent information, which in turn can be the basis for new ideas and firefighting inventions. 

Portuguese patenting

Between 2016 and 2025, a growing number of patent applications related to forest‑firefighting technologies were filed with the European Patent Office, including contributions from Portuguese applicants.

As a relatively small country, Portugal has nonetheless seen a marked increase in its innovation activity, with patenting growth underscoring its rising importance within the European innovation landscape. In particular, this trend appears to be strongly stimulated by the pressing challenges faced by southern European countries in the context of accelerated climate change, notably in areas such as energy, environmental technologies and climate adaptation.

Further information

• The EPO’s Firefighting platform
• Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)
• Liga dos Bombeiros Portugueses

Media contacts European Patent Office

Roberta Romano-Götsch 
EPO spokesperson

EPO press desk
[email protected]

About the EPO

With 6 300 staff members, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting process, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 46 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.

About INPI Portugal

Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) is an agency under the supervision of the Minister of Justice (in coordination with the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion and the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation). Its mission is to ensure the protection of Industrial Property (IP), safeguarding the proper, efficient, and timely granting, maintenance, and termination of rights. 

It also aims to promote innovation, development, and the country’s economic growth, as well as to combat counterfeiting and unfair competition.