Innovations in safety

The customer

A leader in industrial insulation, headquartered in the United States and now searching for the next innovation in electric vehicle battery safety.  

An emphasis on safety and a desire to innovate – the strong foundations of a fruitful relationship with the customer.

The challenge 

A scientist in a lab coat uses a microscope at a laboratory workstation, with a computer screen nearby. In the background, two other scientists in lab coats work together at another station. The lab is well-lit with a futuristic design, and tesa tape can be seen being used to secure equipment and organize cables throughout the workspace.

The customer’s unique requirements revolved around the design of an EV battery. With a higher energy density providing better performance, the key is packing as much active materials into the battery pack as possible.

To maintain a high level of safety, the cells need to be thermally insulated from one another, so that a thermal runaway event does not lead to thermal propagation. This helps to avoid or mitigate battery fires.

While they work on performance-enhancing materials, they required help on a more safety-critical insulation material of the build. 

The product 

A blue rectangular portable battery pack with rounded edges. The top features two white buttons on either end and a central power button. There are also multiple ports for charging devices, all securely affixed with tesa tape.

The customer needed a low-thickness tape that was specified for fire resistance. tesa’s single-sided tape was the right choice: It fulfills the UL94 standard for flammability of plastic materials with a rating of VTM-0.  

At about half the thickness of comparable tapes in the market, our product’s low thickness profile is a design advantage. 

Building an EV battery requires stacking pieces many times over. Being able to do so with the aid of a tape that measures 0.05 mm creates valuable space. Taken together, tesa’s low-thickness adhesive tape is a space-saving measure specified to high standards of fire safety. 

The relationship 

In a fast-moving industry like e-mobility, where concepts can be iterated on and scrapped within days, the relationship with our customers is paramount. 

Time can put a huge pressure on OEM and OES to retain their share of the market. All of which can mean fast decisions are required, and faster testing too. We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and the ability to modify quickly as well as our in-house testing capabilities according to automotive standards. 

We were able to deliver a tape which not only met the customer’s low-thickness requirement, but also delivered high flame resistance in meeting UL94 standards. 

The customer visited our European headquarters to see our work in action. Our global reach was one of the reasons why they chose to work with us, as well as our ability to develop a solution based on understanding their exact requirements as efficiently as possible. 

With innovative products and a team of experts to rely on, tesa is the right partner going forward, in our continuing mission to innovate with the world’s leading brands.