[Digital Today reporter Hyunwoo Choo] Invent Partners, a company specialising in innovative safety solutions, is launching the FO-LIA 8L, a fire extinguisher dedicated to lithium-ion batteries. The product obtained certification from the Korea Fire Institute (KFI) in March this year.

The FO-LIA 8L focuses on blocking thermal runaway, a major cause of lithium-ion battery fires, at an early stage. It applies a high-performance cooling extinguishing agent, reflecting batteries’ chain-ignition characteristics that were difficult to address with conventional dry powder extinguishers. The design goes beyond suppressing flames, allowing the agent to penetrate inside the fire source to rapidly lower temperatures and curb reignition.

It adopts an 8-litre large-capacity design, which is expected to deliver practical suppression effects in environments that are difficult to control with small extinguishers, such as electric vehicle battery packs, large power banks and energy storage systems (ESS).

Invent Partners took part in the 2026 Korea Business Expo held at Seoul’s COEX from March 31 to April 1 and showcased the new product. At the event hosted by the Overseas Korean Traders Association (OKTA), a number of overseas buyers visited the booth for product consultations and cooperation talks. Invent Partners secured a foothold for entering global markets by signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) totalling more than $100 million, about 146 billion won, with companies in key countries including the Philippines, Vietnam and the Czech Republic.

An Invent Partners official said, "In an environment where the use of lithium batteries has become routine in electric vehicles, electric kick scooters and smart devices, the most important thing is 'verified safety.'" The official added, "With performance and reliability officially recognised through KFI certification, we will create full-scale results in overseas markets based on these global MOUs."