Why We Use Aerogel as the Fire Protection Solution in Our Energy Storage and Charging Equipment

How a material that is 99% air is redefining safety standards for the next generation of energy storage

The Burning Problem: Fire Risk in Energy Storage and Charging Systems

The global energy transition is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and electric vehicle charging infrastructure are now deployed across industrial parks, commercial complexes, data centers, and residential neighborhoods alike. Yet as these systems scale up, so does one of the most dangerous and difficult-to-manage hazards in modern energy technology: thermal runaway.

Thermal runaway occurs when the heat generated inside a lithium-ion battery cell exceeds the system’s ability to dissipate it, triggering a self-reinforcing feedback loop. As internal temperatures rise, chemical reactions accelerate and produce even more heat — a cascading chain reaction that can quickly spiral into fire, explosion, and the release of highly toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride. Once this process begins in a single cell, it can propagate across an entire battery pack within seconds, turning a contained electrical fault into a catastrophic, full-facility incident.

The real-world consequences are well-documented and sobering. In January 2025, a thermal runaway event at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California spread rapidly across battery racks due to insufficient thermal insulation. In May 2024, a fire at the 250 MW Gateway Energy Storage Facility in San Diego ignited from a single battery rack, reignited multiple times, and required a 17-day firefighting effort before it was fully contained. Each of these incidents underscores the same fundamental lesson: the gap between a single overheating cell and a full-scale disaster is dangerously narrow — unless the right materials stand in the way.

This is precisely why we chose aerogel.

What Is Aerogel? The Science Behind the “Frozen Smoke”

Aerogel is not insulation foam. It is not fiberglass. It is not ceramic fiber. Aerogel is one of the most remarkable materials ever engineered — a solid substance composed of up to 99.8% air by volume, structured around an ultra-fine three-dimensional nanoporous silica or alumina skeleton. Its nickname, “frozen smoke,” comes from its ethereal, translucent appearance and its astonishing lightness.

The thermal performance of aerogel is rooted in physics. Heat travels through materials via three pathways: solid-phase conduction, gas-phase conduction, and thermal radiation. Aerogel systematically suppresses all three:

Solid-phase conduction is minimized because the solid skeleton of aerogel is so sparse and discontinuous at the nanoscale that heat cannot find a direct path through it. Gas-phase conduction is eliminated because the pore sizes within aerogel — typically between 20 and 100 nanometers — are smaller than the mean free path of air molecules, effectively trapping gas molecules in place and preventing them from conducting heat through convective motion. Radiative heat transfer is suppressed by incorporating opacifiers such as silicon carbide or alumina fibers into the aerogel matrix, which absorb and scatter infrared radiation.

The result is a thermal conductivity that is nothing short of extraordinary:

compared to conventional insulation materials:

This means that, at equal thickness, aerogel delivers two to four times the thermal insulation of the best traditional materials — and at equal insulation performance, aerogel can be five to ten times thinner.

Five Reasons Aerogel Is the Right Choice for Our Equipment

① Stopping the Chain Reaction Before It Starts

The most critical function aerogel performs in our storage and charging equipment is acting as a passive thermal firewall between individual battery cells and modules. We integrate aerogel barrier sheets directly between cells within the battery pack, between modules within a rack, and between racks within an enclosure. When a single cell enters thermal runaway and surges to temperatures exceeding 600°C, the aerogel layer absorbs and blocks the radiant and conductive heat from reaching neighboring cells, breaking the chain reaction that would otherwise cascade across the entire system.

This is not a theoretical benefit. Research published in peer-reviewed journals has confirmed that aerogel-based barriers significantly extend the time before adjacent cells reach their thermal runaway threshold — in some configurations, by an order of magnitude — giving safety systems, monitoring equipment, and emergency responders the critical window they need to respond.

② Structural Integrity at Extreme Temperatures

Here lies one of the most important distinctions between aerogel and conventional fire protection materials. Many commonly used insulating materials — including polyurethane foam and certain polymer-based barriers — begin to melt, deform, or combust at temperatures between 200°C and 400°C. In other words, they become fuel precisely when they are needed most. Inorganic aerogels based on silica or alumina, by contrast, have melting points exceeding 1,000°C. Throughout the entire temperature range of a lithium-ion thermal runaway event (typically 150°C to 800°C), aerogel retains its full structural form and thermal barrier performance. It does not melt. It does not burn. It does not add to the fire load. It simply holds the line.

③ Ultra-Thin and Lightweight — Maximum Protection, Minimum Penalty

Energy density is a core competitive metric in storage and charging equipment design. Every gram of added weight and every millimeter of added thickness has a cost — either in reduced energy capacity or in compromised system compactness. This is where aerogel’s physical properties deliver a decisive advantage.

A traditional ceramic fiber thermal barrier achieving a certain level of fire protection may require a thickness of 8 to 15 mm. An aerogel barrier delivering equivalent or superior protection typically needs only 1 to 4 mm. The density of aerogel is typically:

making it one of the lightest solid materials on earth. The net result is that our equipment gains a certified-grade fire protection layer with almost no measurable impact on energy density or overall system weight — a trade-off that no competing material can match.

④ Mechanical Buffering for Longer Cell Life

Lithium-ion cells are not static objects. Over their operational lifetime, they expand and contract with each charge-discharge cycle — a process that can produce volumetric changes of up to 10% in high-energy chemistries. If this expansion pressure is not properly managed, it creates cumulative mechanical stress on cell casings, separators, and electrode structures, accelerating capacity fade and increasing internal fault risk.

Aerogel’s compressible, elastic structure allows it to function simultaneously as a thermal barrier and a mechanical buffer, absorbing cell swelling forces without losing its insulating properties. This dual functionality means that the same material protecting against fire is also actively extending the operational life of the cells it surrounds — a compound benefit that simplifies design and reduces total cost of ownership.

⑤ Eliminating Condensation-Related Failures

Storage and charging equipment deployed in outdoor environments or high-humidity industrial settings faces an additional hazard that is often overlooked: condensation. When temperature differentials exist between the interior and exterior of a battery enclosure, moisture condenses on internal surfaces and electrical components, creating pathways for short circuits and accelerating corrosion of metallic contacts. Aerogel’s insulating properties minimize the thermal gradient across enclosure walls, dramatically reducing the formation of condensation and protecting sensitive electrical components from moisture-induced degradation — without requiring additional active dehumidification systems.

Aerogel vs. Traditional Fire Protection: A Direct Comparison

The comparison is unambiguous. Aerogel does not represent a marginal improvement over incumbent solutions — it represents a categorical leap across every dimension that matters for safety, space, and longevity in energy storage applications.

An Industry at Inflection: Aerogel Is Becoming the Global Standard

The strategic choice we have made is fully aligned with where the global energy storage industry is heading. According to IDTechEx’s market intelligence report Aerogels 2025–2035, the aerogel market exceeded US$1 billion in 2025, with EV and battery energy storage applications now identified as the single fastest-growing segment. The market share of aerogels in EV-related applications expanded nearly 20-fold between 2021 and 2024, and leading manufacturers such as Aspen Aerogels reported a 90% year-on-year revenue increase in their EV thermal barrier segment in FY2024 alone. IDTechEx forecasts the overall aerogels market to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% through 2035.

The world’s most demanding manufacturers are already acting on this data. Major automotive OEMs including GM, Toyota, and Audi have adopted aerogel thermal barriers in their EV battery packs. Global battery leaders BYD and CATL have incorporated aerogel as a standard component in their latest cell-to-pack and cell-to-body architectures. Aspen Aerogels’ PyroThin® thermal barrier series — validated through real-world performance in some of the most demanding automotive and industrial environments on the planet — forms a direct technological foundation for BESS-grade aerogel applications.

These are not early adopters chasing novelty. These are the most rigorous engineering organizations in the world, independently arriving at the same conclusion: when fire protection performance is non-negotiable, aerogel is the answer.

Regulatory Compliance as a Driver, Not a Ceiling

The regulatory environment governing energy storage fire safety is tightening globally, and aerogel positions our equipment ahead of the curve rather than merely in compliance with it.

In China, the newly enacted national standard GB/T 36276-2023 (Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Energy Storage), which came into force on July 1, 2024, mandates that when any single cell in a battery module exceeds its thermal limit, it must not trigger thermal runaway in adjacent cells, must not cause fire, and must not cause explosion. This is a standard that is simply incompatible with the performance envelope of traditional insulation materials — and one that aerogel is specifically engineered to meet.

In the United States, the NFPA and relevant state-level energy regulators have consistently highlighted inadequate thermal insulation as a contributing factor in the majority of documented BESS fire incidents. The trajectory of regulatory development globally is unambiguous: thermal barrier performance requirements will only increase, and the materials that define the performance ceiling today will define the compliance baseline of tomorrow.

We are not designing our equipment to meet today’s minimum standards. We are engineering it for the standards that are coming.

Conclusion: Safety Is Not a Feature. It Is the Foundation.

Energy storage and charging equipment are not consumer devices. They concentrate enormous amounts of electrochemical energy in proximity to people, buildings, and critical infrastructure. The engineering choices made inside these systems — materials selected, tolerances maintained, failure modes anticipated — carry consequences that extend far beyond performance specifications and product datasheets.

We chose aerogel because it is the most technically sound, physically proven, and future-ready fire protection material available for battery energy storage applications today. Its ability to block thermal runaway propagation, withstand temperatures that destroy competing materials, minimize design penalties through its ultra-thin and ultra-light form factor, buffer mechanical cell stress, and eliminate condensation risk represents a multi-dimensional safety advantage that no single alternative can replicate.

When we build equipment that stores and distributes energy, we build it with the understanding that the people and communities it serves are trusting us with something irreplaceable. Aerogel is how we honor that trust.

Interested in learning more about our aerogel-integrated fire protection architecture? Contact our engineering team to request a technical deep-dive or product safety datasheet.