Emerging Fire Protection Materials: The Next Big EV Goldmine?

 

 

 

The advancement of reliable fire protection materials is critical to the long-term success of the electric vehicle (EV) industry as it looks to avoid legal challenges and negative press driven by lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery fires. A range of fire protection materials are available that either prevent or delay thermal runaway propagating between cells and eventually outside of the battery pack.

 

IDTechEx expects the continued growth of the EV market, noting that monthly European EV sales rose 40% between February and April 2026 as consumer behaviour continues to adapt in response to high oil prices of over >US$100/barrel caused by the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, expanded EV production will drive strong demand for fire protection materials, with IDTechEx forecasting that the fire protection materials market will grow at a CAGR of 13% over the next decade to exceed US$10 billion by 2037.

 

 

 

With sustained growth projected for the EV sector and all existing cell formats expected to remain on the market, IDTechEx expects that all fire protection materials will experience market growth over the coming years.

 

Notably, a few incumbent materials, including encapsulating foams and mica sheets, currently make up over 80% of the fire protection market. However, detailed analysis from the new IDTechEx report "Fire Protection Materials for EV Batteries 2027-2037: Markets, Trends, and Forecasts" shows that the combined market share of these incumbents is in decline as emerging alternatives such as aerogels and fire protective polymers become more popular. Consequently, IDTechEx forecasts that emerging fire protection materials will reach a combined market share of almost 40% by 2037.

 

 

 

The growing market share of disruptive new fire protection materials is driven by key performance benefits they confer relative to established incumbents. IDTechEx notes that each fire protection material has its respective benefits and drawbacks, with the appropriate solution depending on various factors including battery design and cell format and no one material being 100% effective.

 

 

 

Polymers, whilst fire retardant, had not generally been considered a suitable fire protection material under high temperature conditions. This perception is now changing, however, driven by the success of new polymer formulations. In particular, intumescent polymers provide a notable success story.

 

Intumescent polymers, which swell upon heating to form an insulative fire blanket, can provide a significant improvement in terms of multifunctionality. Consequently, a single polymeric cell holder or cell separator can be used to replace multiple other materials that must currently be used in tandem to achieve the same level of fire protection. IDTechEx expects the use of all fire-resistant coatings (intumescent or otherwise) to increase, as they are suitable for applications that require very light and thin materials that retain strong fire protection properties.

 

 

Aerogels can be employed as fire protection materials at both the pack and cell level, and are seeing growing adoption rates within the EV industry due to their strong combination of low densities of under 0.5 cm³/g (which IDTechEx notes confers lightweighting benefits, a key concern for EV players) as well as low thermal conductivity of under 0.05 W/m∙K. Consequently, aerogels are expected to gain a significant total market size, despite their low density and material intensity resulting in relatively low material demand by volume.

 

 

 

Foams, encapsulants, and Phase-Change Materials (PCMs) are primarily used for fire protection purposes in cylindrical cell systems. IDTechEx notes that Tesla's dominance in many EV markets is a key driver for the growth in adoption of fire protective foams, as these are employed extensively within Tesla's EV batteries.

 

IDTechEx believes that of these, foams are the most promising material that provide both thermal insulation and low density. In contrast, while encapsulants and PCMs will remain in use for smaller battery systems where active thermal management is not employed, this represents a much smaller segment of the overall market.

 

 

IDTechEx's report on Fire Protection Materials for Electric Vehicle Batteries analyses how trends in battery design and safety regulations will impact the future usage of different fire protection materials, with detailed benchmarking of both incumbent and emerging fire protection materials against key performance metrics.

 

This report is informed by IDTechEx's extensive database of over 150 materials from 72 commercial suppliers, including 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. 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. 10-year market forecasts are included by material and vehicle category.

 

 

For more information on this report, including downloadable sample pages, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/FPM, or for the full portfolio of research related to thermal management, advanced materials, batteries, and EVs available from IDTechEx, see www.IDTechEx.com.