As environmental regulations continue to tighten across maritime, offshore, and industrial sectors, many operators are transitioning to environmentally friendly, fluorine-free firefighting foam. However, this shift raises an important question:
Can your fire protection system and foam proportioner handle the new environmentally friendly, fluorine-free foam?
At Matre, this question can be answered with confidence — and tested under realistic and controlled conditions.
Closed, Emission-Free Test Facility
Matre operates a closed-loop, emission-free firefighting test facility at its production facilities in Rubbestadneset, Bømlo, on the west coast of Norway. The test center is centrally located between Haugesund and Bergen and is designed to meet strict environmental requirements. It allows customers to validate system performance without environmental discharge, ensuring compliance with applicable environmental regulations.
The facility provides:
Closed-loop foam testing
Emission-free operation
Environmentally compliant testing
Safe handling of fluorine-free foams
Full-scale system testing in controlled conditions
This enables customers to test new foam types without environmental risk.
Full-Scale Testing of Foam Proportioners and Nozzles
The test center allows verification of:
Foam proportioner performance
Flow and pressure measurements
Foam insertion ratio
System functionality and response time
Performance comparison between foam types
This ensures that systems operate as intended when transitioning to fluorine-free foam.
Temperature and Viscosity Testing for Harsh Environments
Fluorine-free foam behaves differently than traditional AFFF foam, particularly in low-temperature environments. Changes in viscosity can affect both foam proportioning and system performance.
Matre’s test facility can perform temperature-controlled testing of foam, allowing customers to evaluate performance in demanding environments such as:
Arctic and cold climate operations
Offshore installations in northern regions
Maritime operations in cold waters
Low-temperature storage conditions
These tests help verify that foam proportioners and system maintain correct performance under varying temperature conditions.
Supporting the Transition to Fluorine-Free Foam
Switching to fluorine-free foam is not simply a product replacement — it is a system performance consideration. Through controlled testing at Matre’s test center, customers can:
Verify compatibility with fluorine-free foam
Identify required adjustments
Optimize system performance
Reduce operational risk
Ensure environmental compliance
Test Before You Transition
Changing firefighting foam requires careful verification. With Matre’s closed, emission-free test facility and temperature-controlled testing, customers can confidently validate system performance before implementing fluorine-free foam.
Can your system handle fluorine-free foam?
At Matre’s test center, you can find out — before it matters most.
Want to test your system or got any questions?
Contact:
Jan Kåre Helvik, Business Development Manager - jhe@matre.no, +47 97 79 05 10
Martin Hollund, Sales director - mh@matre.no, +47 93 69 74 42
