Asahi Kasei, the Japanese technology company, launches the new LASTAN flame-retardant nonwoven fabric for thermal runaway protection in electric vehicle (EV) battery. The new solution can be applied in top covers, busbar protection sleeves, and other applications within the EV battery pack.

The new LASTAN flame-retardant nonwoven fabric.

LASTAN is a non-mineral flame-resistant fabric made by air baking a special acrylic fiber at 200-300°C. It features high flame resistance and good electrical insulation.

LASTAN also offers abrasion resistance as further improved by a special coating process. This allows the material to provide effective protection against particle bombardment from venting gas.

The solution can be utilized in top covers, busbar protection sleeves, and other applications within the EV battery pack.

One of the application example for the LASTAN fabric is to be used in EV battery top cover.

More on characteristics

Even when a 1,300°C flame is applied, the temperature on the opposite side of the solution remains below 400°C. While a “limiting oxygen index” (LOI) value of 27 or higher is generally considered to indicate flame retardance, this material has an LOI value of 50 or higher.

In UL94 flame retardance testing, LASTAN has obtained the highest rating of 5VA. No holes are formed in LASTAN even when it is exposed to a flame of 1,300°C for one minute.

In addition to high flame resistance, LASTAN is resistant to high-pressure impact by particles of 200-500 μm.

It also provides electrical insulating capacity of up to 3.5 kV at a thickness of 1 mm. LASTAN also features outstanding processability, being highly flexible while maintaining its performance characteristics in sheets as thin as 0.8 mm.

This makes it easily processed with ordinary tools, contributing to a simplified manufacturing process.

LASTAN flame-retardant fabric is currently in integrated production in Japan. Asahi Kasei is considering production in the US and other countries in the future.