Fire Protection Materials for Safer Lithium-Ion Batteries

Thermal runaway and system safety are critical topics when it comes to using lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries for battery energy storage systems (BESS). Incidents such as a suspected battery explosion resulting in the recent fire at South Korea's national data center halting major online government services, bring to the fore the need to minimize the risk of thermal runaway events. As detailed in IDTechEx's upcoming market report "Thermal Management, Fire and Explosion Protection for BESS 2026-2036," while there are various methods for reducing the likelihood of thermal runaway, such as effective thermal management and active cooling solutions, quality control, and battery management systems, no method is 100% effective. Fire protection materials are also key in providing a passive method to prevent or mitigate the propagation of thermal runaway. All these factors also apply to managing battery safety in electric vehicles (EV). Within the EV market, IDTechEx's report on Fire Protection Materials for EV 2025-2035: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts predicts that materials for fire protection will grow at a CAGR of 15% over the next decade.

 

 

There are several causes of thermal runaway, including overcharging, overheating, internal short circuits, and mechanical damage. For example, a manufacturing defect in any type of cell could cause an internal short circuit, which may lead to thermal runaway. Additionally, higher energy density cells generally exhibit higher temperatures during thermal runaway.

 

With EVs becoming an increasingly large part of the fleet, their safety becomes ever more important. Despite the fact that most data shows EV fires are less common than combustion engine vehicles, safety cannot be overlooked at any rate of occurrence.

 

 

A key focus for the EV industry is the need to apply fire protection materials to prevent or delay thermal runaway propagating between cells and eventually outside of the battery pack. Fire protection materials can be applied at the cell-level and at the pack-level. Cell-level includes materials that are used between or around the cells themselves to aid in preventing propagation of thermal runaway or the propagation of fire from a specific cell. These typically include encapsulating foams, aerogels, compression pads (with additives), mica, and a few others. On the other hand, pack-level protection concerns materials that are used within the pack or as a coating of the pack but not directly between cells. These are generally designed to stop fire propagating between modules or outside of the pack. Typical materials in this application would be ceramic blankets (plus other non-wovens), aerogels, mica, powder coatings, intumescent coatings, and others.

 

The market for fire protection materials is becoming increasingly crowded, with a wide range of materials and suppliers available. IDTechEx's material database covers over 150 materials from 72 suppliers. Each of these have more or less suitable applications, and the major categories are benchmarked in the report in terms of thermal conductivity, density, cost, and cost in the required application volume.

 

Many properties are also key for choosing the optimal fire protection material, such as thermal conductivity, density, thickness, dielectric strength, maximum fire protection temperature, and cost. Each of these factors is important in isolation but must be considered at a pack level. A material can be very lightweight, but if a large amount is required to provide protection, then it may not be the best solution. Likewise, if a material must be paired with others to provide all the necessary functions, then it may impact its performance and cost-effectiveness.

 

 

With evolving regulations, IDTechEx's market forecasts show a greater adoption of fire protection materials per vehicle. However, this must be paired with trends around battery development that can often reduce material use per vehicle. The variety of battery designs and material solutions presents a large opportunity across several markets and suppliers. IDTechEx predicts this market will grow at 15% CAGR from 2024 to 2035.

 

IDTechEx's report on Fire Protection Materials for Electric Vehicle Batteries analyzes trends in battery design, safety regulations, and how these will impact fire protection materials, with detailed benchmarks of fire protection materials. The materials covered include ceramic blankets/sheets (and other non-wovens), mica, aerogels, coatings (intumescent and other), encapsulants, encapsulating foams, compression pads, phase change materials, polymers, and several other materials. 10-year market forecasts are included by material and vehicle category.

 

For more information on this report, visit www.IDTechEx.com/FPM. For the full portfolio of research from IDTechEx, including extensive research on electric vehicles, batteries, thermal management and materials, please see www.IDTechEx.com.