Driven by carbon neutrality strategy, industrial energy conservation and rapid development of new energy, aerogel has fully penetrated five core tracks including industrial pipelines, building energy saving, new energy storage, cold chain logistics and aerospace. With ultra-high thermal insulation, lightweight flame retardancy and weather resistance, it has become a new generation of strategic material to replace traditional insulation materials and realize lightweight energy saving. Its application scope is expanding rapidly from high-end special fields to civil industry, with a growing market scale and obvious characteristics of localization acceleration, cost reduction and customized development.
Industrial high-temperature energy saving is the largest basic application of aerogel, widely used in petrochemical, thermal power metallurgy, heat supply pipeline and LNG storage and transportation. Traditional insulation materials such as rock wool and silicate have low thermal efficiency, large thickness and short service life. In contrast, aerogel insulation layer is thin and efficient, resistant to temperature over 600℃, with excellent corrosion resistance and service life up to 15–20 years. It greatly reduces pipeline heat loss and equipment maintenance cost, and has become the preferred upgrading material for high-temperature steam pipelines, refining equipment and ultra-low temperature storage tanks.
The new energy industry is the fastest-growing track for aerogel, mainly applied in power batteries, energy storage power stations, photovoltaic and wind power. In new energy vehicles and energy storage battery packs, aerogel insulation felt and particle filling layer can effectively block the spread of thermal runaway and improve the safety protection level of battery systems. The application of aerogel in photovoltaic inverters and wind turbine cabins balances temperature difference and enhances equipment stability and service life. With the increasing penetration of energy storage and new energy vehicles, the demand growth of aerogel in new energy ranks first in the industry.
Building energy saving and cold chain logistics are key markets for popularization. In ultra-low energy buildings, passive houses and exterior wall renovation, aerogel insulation coatings and boards achieve high thermal insulation with ultra-thin structure, saving building space and meeting energy-saving demands of high-rise buildings. In pharmaceutical and fresh food cold chain transportation, aerogel insulation boxes feature light weight and constant temperature, replacing traditional polyurethane foam, reducing cold chain loss and improving temperature control stability.
Aerospace and high-end precision fields represent the highest-value applications. Aerogel is used for spacecraft thermal protection, aero-engine insulation, precision instrument moisture-proof insulation and semiconductor low-dielectric substrates. Its advantages of light weight and extreme temperature resistance realize equipment weight reduction and reliability improvement. Meanwhile, relying on high specific surface area and adsorption capacity, aerogel is gradually applied in environmental protection fields such as waste gas treatment, water purification and catalyst carriers.
The industry presents three major future trends: first, large-scale cost reduction. The release of domestic atmospheric drying capacity steadily lowers product prices and accelerates civil market replacement. Second, composite functionalization. Aerogel compounded with glass fiber, ceramic and resin improves mechanical performance and expands application of shaped products. Third, segmented customization. Special models are developed for battery dedicated, pipeline dedicated, cosmetic adsorption and electronic low-dielectric scenarios. In the next few years, aerogel will maintain rapid growth and gradually become the core pillar in energy-saving insulation and high-end new material industry.