Asahi Kasei unveils flame-retardant material for EV battery safety

Asahi Kasei, a Japanese technology company, has launched LASTAN, a new flame-resistant, flexible nonwoven fabric designed to improve EV battery safety. LASTAN serves as an advanced alternative to traditional materials for protecting against thermal runaway and is suitable for use in battery top covers, busbar protection sleeves, and other EV battery applications.

As the need for flame-resistant and impact-proof materials in EV battery covers grows, there is increasing demand for materials with strong insulation properties. Currently, mineral-based materials are often used for thermal runaway protection, but they are heavy, brittle, and difficult to shape, which poses manufacturing challenges for automakers.

LASTAN is a non-mineral flame-retardant fabric created by heating an acrylic fiber at 200–300°C. It offers excellent flame resistance and electrical insulation, further enhanced by a special coating that improves its durability. This makes it highly effective at protecting against particle impacts from venting gases. LASTAN has long been utilized across different industries for its reliability in preventing failures and ensuring safety.

Beyond its flame resistance, LASTAN can withstand high-pressure impacts from particles between 200–500 µm and provides electrical insulation up to 3.5 kV at 1 mm thickness. It is also highly flexible and maintains its properties even in thin sheets of 0.8 mm, making it easy to process with standard tools, simplifying manufacturing operations.