Super-light materials that help suppress EV battery fires just got a big boost

Automakers and battery manufacturers already put some measures in place to lower the risk of thermal runaway, including battery management systems that can detect and control battery conditions to prevent fires before they occur. Thermal insulation materials—including those made with aerogels—are part of the growing arsenal that can limit the damage if thermal runaway does occur.

One potential drawback to those materials is that they add bulk to a battery, which reduces energy density—the amount of energy that a battery can store in a certain volume or weight. Higher energy density translates to longer range for an EV, a crucial selling point for many drivers. The benefit of aerogels is that they’re super-light, since they’re mostly air—so they don’t limit energy density as much as other materials might. 

Aspen’s thermal barriers are typically between one and four millimeters thick and can be stacked between cells. Depending on the automaker and vehicle in question, the cost to incorporate it in an EV runs between $300 and $1,000, Young says. 

COURTESY OF ASPEN AEROGEL

The market is ramping up quickly. When the company began selling its battery materials in 2021, it did roughly $7 million in sales. In 2023 it had reached $110 million, and that’s on track to more than double again in 2024, Young says. 

Aspen Aerogels currently makes materials for EV batteries at its factory in Rhode Island, which also makes materials for other businesses, including the oil and gas industry. “We’re just busting at the seams of that plant,” Young says. The DOE loan will support construction of a new facility in Georgia, which will be entirely dedicated to making material for EV batteries. The plan is to have that facility running by early 2027, Young says. 

“This loan is to really get them at scale for their first commercial facility in Georgia,” Shah says. The company will need to meet certain financial and technical requirements to finalize the funding. 

“This loan is critically important to us, to help us with the completion of that project,” Young says. 

Correction: A caption has been updated to correctly identify the material pictured as a thermal barrier.