Innovation to Impact

Safetytech Accelerator

Innovation to Impact is a podcast by Safetytech Accelerator exploring how emerging technologies are transforming safety, sustainability, and society. Each episode features conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers working at the forefront of change — from AI and digital transformation to environmental protection and risk management. We go beyond the hype to unpack the real challenges organisations face, the solutions being tested today, and what it takes to turn innovation into meaningful, real-world impact. Whether you’re working in industry, policy, or technology, this podcast gives you the insights shaping the future of safer, more sustainable systems.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Why Cargo Fires at Sea Are So Hard to Stop | Innovation to Impact

    Cargo fires are one of the most complex safety challenges facing the maritime industry—but why are they so difficult to detect, contain and prevent? In this episode of Innovation to Impact, Safetytech Accelerator brings together experts from Evergreen, the UK P&I Club and the Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative to explore the operational reality of fighting fires at sea. Unlike incidents on land, vessels have limited equipment, limited personnel and no additional emergency services to call when something goes wrong. Crews must identify the location and nature of a fire while working with incomplete cargo information and detection systems that may only provide a general warning. The conversation explores: • Why larger container vessels have increased the scale and complexity of the risk • How lithium-ion batteries and misdeclared cargo create new challenges • Where existing fire-detection systems fall short • What makes a new technology suitable for use at sea • Why real-world testing aboard vessels is essential • How operators, insurers, regulators and technology companies can work together • Why protecting seafarers must remain the industry’s central priority Cargo fires cannot be solved by one organisation or one piece of technology. The industry needs shared knowledge, practical testing and collaboration—even between competitors—to develop solutions that are reliable, scalable and commercially viable. As the guests explain, vessels and cargo can be replaced. The lives of crew members cannot. Learn more about the Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative: CFLII | Safetytech Accelerator

    Why Cargo Fires at Sea Are So Hard to Stop | Innovation to Impact
  2. May 8

    Road Diaries Episode: Cargo Fire Programme Update from Athens | Innovation to Impact

    In this Road Diaries episode, we sit down with Kassie during the Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative anchor partner meeting in Athens to reflect on where the programme is now, what we heard from partners, and what comes next. Cargo fires remain one of the maritime industry’s most complex safety challenges. They are not simply a technology problem — they sit across the wider ecosystem of cargo declaration, risk visibility, vessel operations, insurance, detection, prevention, emergency response and industry adoption. Over two days in Athens, anchor partners came together to discuss the progress of the programme, the barriers still facing the industry, and how collaboration can help move promising solutions closer to real-world impact. In this episode, we discuss: How the Cargo Fire & Loss Innovation Initiative is progressing Why cargo fire prevention requires ecosystem-wide collaboration What makes adoption difficult in safety-critical maritime environments The value of bringing partners together in person What we enjoyed most about Athens And yes — a robot dog makes an appearance At Safetytech Accelerator, our work is focused on helping move innovation beyond pilots and into practical, trusted and scalable adoption. Cargo fire prevention is exactly the kind of challenge where that approach matters: complex, urgent, and impossible for any single organisation to solve alone. There is no competition when it comes to safety.

    Road Diaries Episode: Cargo Fire Programme Update from Athens | Innovation to Impact

About

Innovation to Impact is a podcast by Safetytech Accelerator exploring how emerging technologies are transforming safety, sustainability, and society. Each episode features conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers working at the forefront of change — from AI and digital transformation to environmental protection and risk management. We go beyond the hype to unpack the real challenges organisations face, the solutions being tested today, and what it takes to turn innovation into meaningful, real-world impact. Whether you’re working in industry, policy, or technology, this podcast gives you the insights shaping the future of safer, more sustainable systems.