BOSTON, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Author: Dr James
Edmondson, Research Director at IDTechEx
The protection of electric vehicle (EV) batteries from thermal
runaway and fire is an important topic. Safety is paramount for the
automotive industry and regulations are starting to catch up,
implementing escape times and other measures to improve safety. The
large variety in battery pack designs and OEM requirements has led
to the adoption of many different types of materials to prevent or
delay the propagation of thermal runaway. With the rapidly growing
EV market, there is certainly a large opportunity to be had for
material suppliers, with IDTechEx predicting a 16.3% CAGR for EV
battery fire protection materials from 2023 to 2034.
However, over the past couple of years, IDTechEx has seen a very
large number of material suppliers entering this space. Some are
repurposing existing materials, and some are making dedicated
solutions. But at this stage, almost every major materials supplier
has at least one option for a material that can be used for this
application.
IDTechEx findings from industry events
In January 2024, IDTechEx attended
Automotive World 2024 in Tokyo,
Japan. The event observed materials such as encapsulating
foams from Dow and H.B. Fuller. While these have been primarily
used for cylindrical cell systems, there are also opportunities for
these to expand adoption to use between prismatic and pouch
cells.
IDTechEx also saw Denka and Fujipoly exhibiting a fiberglass
material with endothermic additives and a silicone rubber,
respectively. Stanley Engineered Fastening is entering this space
too; it showcased thermal fins, swelling compensators, and thermal
barriers as part of its thermal management solution for EV battery
packs.
Applications are not just between cells; Fujikura showed a
graphite-based intumescent material that expanded to form a
protective layer around the seal of a battery pack in the event of
high temperatures.
At InterBattery 2024, IDTechEx observed players such as Shinsung
C&T, Wacker, 3M, Alkegen, and
Aspen Aerogels displaying materials that can aid in the fire safety
of EV batteries. Aerogels are certainly a material with increased
interest thanks to their low density and thermal conductivity;
despite some historic challenges around dustiness and high costs,
aerogels are starting to see increased adoption with players like
Aspen and Alkegen. IDTechEx's
report, "Aerogels 2024-2034: Technologies, Markets and Players",
predicts the market for aerogels will exceed US$2.6 billion by 2034, a huge increase from its
hundreds of millions today, largely driven by the EV battery
sector.
It should be noted that the materials mentioned above are at
various stages of commercialization, from development projects
through to mass-produced materials, and this is just a small subset
of the players on the market. In fact, IDTechEx's database of
materials now includes over 130 materials used for EV battery fire
protection.
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Challenges for material suppliers
One of the challenges material suppliers face is the supply
chain; for example, some OEMs source battery modules already
assembled from China or Korea,
meaning the OEM has little impact on the materials used between
cells, and a supplier may have to go directly to the battery
manufacturer, although this situation appears to be changing with
greater development of in-house OEM production. Many OEMs also have
strong existing relationships with material suppliers from other
components, making entry for new players more challenging,
especially if they are not used to the volumes required for the
automotive industry.
Materials must balance properties such as thermal conductivity,
density, thickness/volume, dielectric strength, maximum protection
temperature, and, ultimately, cost. Due to the inherent pros and
cons of each material, suppliers may find their portfolio more or
less suited to various applications for the battery; for example,
protection between cylindrical, prismatic, or pouch cells, module
level protection, pack lid protection, busbar protection, seal
protection, vent protection, or several others.
EV fire protection material opportunities
Despite the challenges, the rapidly growing EV market with an
increased focus on fire safety presents good opportunities for many
players to operate in this field. Cars are not the only market
electrifying either, with sectors like micromobility, trucks, and
buses also presenting strong growth in electrification, leading to
opportunities outside of the automotive market. IDTechEx predicts
that segments outside automotive will account for 19% of the
revenue made by fire protection materials for on-road EV segments
in 2034, a nearly 9-fold increase in its value today.
IDTechEx's report "Fire Protection Materials for EV Batteries
2024-2034: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts" predicts the market
share and growth for various categories of materials, including
ceramic sheets, mica sheets, encapsulating foams, aerogels,
coatings (fire retardant and intumescent), phase change materials,
and others. The report considers upcoming regulations and the
shifts in battery design, such as cell format, cell-to-pack, and
more, to determine volume and value forecasts across on-road
vehicle categories, including cars, vans, trucks, buses,
2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, and microcars.
For more information on this report, including downloadable
sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/FPM, or for the full
portfolio of research available from IDTechEx, including
the Aerogels market report and a wide portfolio of battery and
EV-related research, please visit www.IDTechEx.com.
About IDTechEx
IDTechEx provides trusted independent research on emerging
technologies and their markets. Since 1999, we have been
helping our clients to understand new technologies, their supply
chains, market requirements, opportunities and forecasts. For more
information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or
visit www.IDTechEx.com.
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