Helsingborg, September 2025
Firefighting foam is a crucial safety product in Europe, but its production and disposal generate large waste streams. In Europe alone, tens of thousands of cubic meters of firefighting foam are discarded annually, which so far has been almost exclusively dealt with by incineration, a method with high cost and climate impact. At the same time, the production itself generates wash water that also requires safe handling.
Helios Innovations and fire foam manufacturer Dafo Fomtec are now showing Fomtec that there is a new way forward. During the spring and summer, Helios installed and commissioned a treatment plant at Fomtec in Helsingborg. The plant treats all of Fomtec's wash water, allowing the water to be reused and reducing waste by as much as 90 %. This is the first plant in Europe capable of treating contaminated wash water from a fire foam factory on an industrial scale.
From incineration to circularity
Previously, all wash water was sent for destruction by incineration, but with the new facility, the water can now be treated directly on site and reused in production or prepared for safe disposal.
The solution is expected to reduce the need for incineration by around 135,000 liters of water per year, while reducing costs by around 30 % compared to external destruction.
Pilot runs and quality assurance
The collaboration between Helios and Dafo Fomtec began in the fall of 2024, after sister company Dafo Brand, like the majority of Sweden's and Norway's fire protection companies, began sending wastewater from discarded fire extinguishers to Helios' central treatment plant in Halmstad. Successful tests in the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025 laid the foundation for scaling up the project to commercial operation.
Big environmental gains - at lower cost
Helios' business model has allowed Fomtec to install the treatment without investing heavily in its own equipment, instead paying only for the volume of water treated.
The investment means that Fomtec reduces the amount of water that needs to be transported and incinerated, resulting in an annual reduction of CO₂ emissions by around 16 tons in Scope 3. At the same time, recirculation of treated water reduces water consumption by 135,000 liters per year.
"This project is an important step in our ambition to reduce our carbon footprint. With Helios' solution, we can both reuse water in our processes and reduce the need for external destruction. Thanks to the approach of the Helios model, we were able to quickly decide to test a new innovative technology and implement the solution in our production.
- Charlotta Reimertz, Compliance Manager, Dafo Fomtec
This year, Helsingborg municipality has a focus area including "How can companies contribute to climate goals", and we at Dafo Fomtec feel proud that our new treatment plant can contribute to this and be part of the important climate work."
- John-Olav Ottesen , General Manager Dafo Fomtec
"We are very proud of this collaboration with Fomtec, which shows how our technology can help close the loop in industries with particularly demanding water challenges."
- Johanna Gillberg, COO, Helios Innovations