Wacker Chemical Corp. has launched three silicone material systems aimed at thermal management, thermal runaway protection and assembly in increasingly integrated EV battery packs, with the rollout anchored by a sprayable coating that forms a ceramic barrier above 600°C.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based unit of WACKER unveiled the materials ahead of The Battery Show in Detroit, where they will be on display Oct. 12–15.

What are the three new materials?

The product set covers three distinct points on the battery manufacturing line:

• ELASTOSIL CM 146 US A/B — a sprayable silicone coating that stays flexible after curing but forms a hard ceramic shield at temperatures above 600°C, providing thermal insulation to protect surrounding components during a thermal runaway event.
• ELASTOSIL RT 7650 TC VS A/B — a low-viscosity, self-leveling potting compound with customizable thermal conductivity from 1.2 to 3.0 W/m·K. The two-part material offers primerless adhesion and targets efficient dispensing.
• SEMICOSIL PE 9351 TC VS A/B — a two-component hybrid adhesive for battery and electronics assembly, delivering thermal conductivity up to 2.0 W/m·K, non-slump dispensing, room-temperature curing and UL 94 V-0 flame-retardant performance.

The supplier positions the portfolio around a structural shift in pack architecture: manufacturers moving from module-to-pack toward cell-to-pack designs, where fewer interfaces and denser packaging raise the demands on thermal interface, potting and bonding materials alike.

Why does process behavior matter as much as specs?

Peter Zorney, senior director of WACKER's Electronics and Automotive business segment for North and Central America, framed the launch around the intersection of material performance and manufacturability.

"Thermal management is closely connected to both battery performance and the manufacturing process," Zorney said. "Engineers have to consider how a material behaves during dispensing and curing, how it performs across operating temperatures and how effectively it supports the application over time while fulfilling increasingly demanding safety requirements."

That framing matters for plant engineers. Potting compounds with tunable conductivity of 1.2–3.0 W/m·K and primerless adhesion reduce process steps; room-temperature curing adhesives cut oven investment and cycle time; non-slump behavior determines whether a bead holds position on vertically oriented cell arrays.

What to watch next

Expect adoption signals to surface in qualification cycles at cell-to-pack lines in North America — watch for dispensing-line integrations and UL 94 V-0 compliance appearing in supplier specification sheets. The Oct. 12–15 Battery Show in Detroit offers the first public benchmarking opportunity against competing thermal interface materials from Dow, Henkel and Momentive.