Driven by the dual carbon goals and energy conservation and consumption reduction policies, aerogel particles break through the performance bottleneck of traditional thermal insulation materials with unique performance advantages, rapidly penetrating into core fields such as building energy conservation, new energy storage, cold chain logistics, petrochemical industry and aerospace. They gradually move from special engineering materials to civil industrial popularization, becoming the core representative of a new generation of high-efficiency energy-saving thermal insulation materials. Its industrial application continues to land, market scale grows rapidly, the industry gradually gets rid of the dilemma of high cost and limited production capacity, rapidly upgrading towards large-scale, customized and composite development, and the application boundary continues to expand.
Petrochemical and industrial energy conservation is the core application scenario of aerogel particles, accounting for more than 45% of the overall market share. For scenarios such as high-temperature steam pipelines, LNG low-temperature storage tanks and petroleum refining equipment, aerogel particles can be directly filled in thermal insulation interlayers or made into particle thermal insulation modules, adapting to the thermal insulation needs of complex special-shaped equipment and pipelines. Compared with traditional thermal insulation materials, the thickness of thermal insulation layer can be reduced by more than 60%, energy efficiency increased by 40%, with strong corrosion resistance and service life of 15-20 years, greatly reducing equipment operation and maintenance costs. In the field of LNG ultra-low temperature storage and transportation, the low temperature resistance and low thermal conductivity of aerogel particles can effectively reduce cold loss and ensure storage and transportation safety, becoming the preferred material in the field of ultra-low temperature thermal insulation.
New energy and building energy conservation fields have become the core engine for the demand growth of aerogel particles. In the field of energy storage power stations and power batteries of new energy vehicles, aerogel particle-filled thermal insulation components can effectively block the spread of cell thermal runaway, improve the safety and stability of battery systems, adapting to the needs of large-capacity energy storage power stations and high-end electric vehicles. In 2024, the global demand for aerogel particles in the new energy field increased by 48% year-on-year, leading the industry in growth rate. In the field of building energy conservation, aerogel particles are mixed into thermal insulation mortar and made into lightweight thermal insulation blocks, suitable for ultra-low energy consumption buildings and energy-saving renovation of old communities. The ultra-thin thermal insulation layer not only saves building space, but also meets stringent energy-saving standards, especially adapting to the thermal insulation needs of high-rise and small-sized buildings, and market penetration continues to rise.
High-end applications of aerogel particles continue to break through in the fields of cold chain logistics and aerospace. In pharmaceutical cold chain and fresh cold chain transportation, aerogel particle thermal insulation boxes have the characteristics of light weight and high-efficiency thermal insulation, which can accurately control temperature from -20℃ to 8℃, ensure the transportation safety of cold chain products, replace traditional polyurethane foam, and improve cold chain transportation efficiency. In the aerospace field, relying on lightweight and extreme temperature zone tolerance characteristics, aerogel particles are used for spacecraft thermal protection and satellite cabin insulation, effectively reducing load load and resisting alternating high and low temperature environments in space, becoming key materials for deep space exploration and manned aerospace projects. In addition, aerogel particles can also be used in environmental adsorption, catalyst carrier, pipeline plugging and other fields, with continuously diversified application scenarios.
The future development of the aerogel particle industry presents three core trends: first, large-scale cost reduction, with the comprehensive popularization of atmospheric drying technology and concentrated release of production capacity, promoting the continuous decline of particle prices and accelerating penetration in civil fields; second, customized upgrading, developing special particle size, high-strength and super-hydrophobic particles for different scenarios to improve scenario adaptability; third, composite development, compounding with fibers, resins and ceramics to overcome the shortcomings of particle brittleness and expand high-end applications. It is expected that from 2025 to 2030, the global aerogel particle market will maintain an average annual growth rate of more than 20%, becoming a core growth point in the field of energy-saving materials.