Growth Opportunities in the EV Space

Published: December 8, 2025

By Max VanRaaphorst, Market Manager, Energy Storage at Avery Dennison Materials Group North America

The electric vehicle marketplace is projected to continue to grow through the rest of the decade, and 2025 marked a record year for EV sales. This shift is driven by consumer interest, government policy, charging infrastructure investments, and innovations in lithium-ion technology that have extended driving range and reduced component costs. With this growth comes an increased demand by engineers for materials that can make their battery designs more reliable, safer and cost-effective.

EV battery adhesives are engineered to make EV batteries safer, more efficient and easier to assemble. Image courtesy of Avery Dennison.

The EV space is an area that provides a tremendous opportunity to converters and others working with high-performance, pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes. EV batteries have a range of applications for converted, pressure-sensitive materials that enable those packs to be more efficient, safer, and easier to assemble. PSAs offer engineers high levels of flexibility when working with modern battery designs and can adhere to a variety of substrates. PSAs are also well-suited for providing solutions for some of the most demanding challenges that face OEMs and battery pack manufacturers as they work to improve their technology. The major issues - and opportunities - for pressure-sensitive materials include:

Reducing Flammability – Acrylic- and silicone-based adhesives with flame-retardant properties allow composites and materials to meet UL® 94 V-0 and other flame requirements.

Boosting Dielectric Strength – Many single- and double-coated tapes incorporate dielectric films. OEMs and pack manufacturers should seek out materials and adhesives that are tested for breakdown voltage and dielectric strength requirements using GB/T 1408.1-2016 and ASTM D3755 test methods.

Optimizing Assembly – Functional EV battery tapes can replace mechanical fastening methods while offering a thinner profile, lighter weight, improved repositionability and an instant bond, all while streamlining production.

The converting and tapes industry are poised to expand with this EV growth. Converters can collaborate with tape suppliers to engineer components featuring PSA tapes, or laminate important structures in battery packs with PSAs for enhanced performance. The following are a few of the applications where PSA tapes are used within an EV battery.

EV battery adhesives include a wide range of functional bonding and protection tapes built on multiple pressure-sensitive adhesive technologies. Image courtesy of Avery Dennison.

Cell-to-Cell Bonding

PSAs offer a quick, strong way to provide structural integrity in an EV battery pack. The use of tapes to bond pouch and/or prismatic cells together in EV battery pack assemblies offer key benefits:

• PSAs tapes require no cure time, with immediate strength — they can act as an assembly aid and a bonding solution, unlike liquid applied products
• There is no need for mixing nozzles or pot life concerns, as PSAs feature single-component functionality
• Flame retardant and dielectric tapes are available when there are flame or electrical requirements

Thermal Runaway Protection

Materials dedicated to mitigating thermal runaway events in which a domino effect of fire spreading from cell to cell can occur. EV and battery manufacturers have strict requirements against thermal runaway events and rely on mica, ceramic fibers, and other materials for protecting cells and passengers. There are a variety of solutions for bonding these materials to cells, modules, and pack structures:

• Flame retardant adhesives that enable composites and materials to meet UL® 94 V-0 and other flame requirements
• Single- and double-coated film tapes for fiber encapsulation, dielectric strength and EV battery venting via fire barrier coatings and quick burn-through
• Easy release liners for preventing the cohesive failure of delicate, fibrous-based materials

Prevention of electrical arcing is crucial for the performance, durability and safety of EV battery packs. Image courtesy of Avery Dennison.

Flexible Busbars

Flexible, printed circuits that require electrical insulation and flame resistance. Busbars offer flexibility, safety, and cost-effectiveness in EV battery applications. Adhesives are used to protect these flexible, printed circuits. The bonds provide electrical insulation and flame retardance.

Thermal Interface Materials

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) facilitate the transfer of heat between components in EV battery assemblies. There are multiple adhesive solutions – for TIMs bonded to either heat sink or chiller plate materials – to assist with battery cell and battery module cooling.

These include:

• Dielectric tapes with primerless adhesion to majority of TIM adhesives
• High wet-out adhesives to lower thermal impedance between TIM and heat source
• Silicone-based PSAs offer excellent adhesion to silicone TIMs
• Acrylic-based PSAs offer first-rate adhesion to non-silicone-based TIMs
• Flame-retardant adhesives, tested in accordance with UL® 94 V-0, are also available

Electrical Insulation

Electrical insulation and cell wrapping are critical for protecting specific sensitive components in EV batteries. The best solution involves single- and double-coated tapes incorporating dielectric films for electrical insulation in EV batteries. Double-coated tapes can be combined with other materials, such as compression pads to achieve electrical insulation. Single-coated tapes can be applied to rigid materials, such as aluminum chill plates and other metal structures.

Pressure-sensitive adhesives offer multiple benefits for thermal runaway protection systems. Image courtesy of Avery Dennison.

Compression Padding

Compression padding materials protect individual cells from damage caused by impact, movement, or swelling. Pressure-sensitive tapes are used to bond compression pad foam that protects EV battery cells. Individual prismatic and pouch cells in EV battery packs need protection from impact and movement. Pouch cells can also swell during charging and discharging. To help prevent damage, EV battery manufacturers are placing foams backed with pressure-sensitive tape between each cell. The use of pressure-sensitive tapes for cell cushioning offers some key benefits:

• Tapes require no cure time and provide immediate strength — they can act as an assembly aid and a bonding solution, unlike liquid-applied products.
• Full coverage adhesion between the metalized polyester pouch cell and cushion foam when pressure-sensitive tapes are used.
• Flame retardant and dielectric tapes are available when there are flame or electrical requirements.

Pack Seal and Gasketing

Creating a tight seal for components is critical in the construction of EV battery assemblies.
Heat-activated acrylic foam tapes help maintain a watertight seal between the casing and rubber gaskets. Acrylic foam tapes offer the following features:

• High durability and strength for demanding environments, shock absorption, and dynamic resistance.
• Acrylic foam core enables gap filling between rigid components.
• A continuous bond line helps seal out unwanted intrusion and reduces the need for fasteners.

Pressure-sensitive tapes are easy for converters, OEMs or pack manufacturers to apply/assemble, provide a slim profile and a continuous bond across a large surface area. They are also generally lighter than mechanical fastening systems — critical in the automotive industry looking for ways to reduce battery pack and overall vehicle weight.

Conclusion

As electric vehicles and EV batteries continue to evolve, PSAs can help address engineering challenges and design requirements to develop safe, effective and reliable solutions. Designed to support fast, flexible, and precise assembly, PSAs can replace or support mechanical fasteners and liquid adhesive, offer cleaner installs, reduce part complexity, and enable automation. This makes battery pack construction simpler and smarter with more uptime, fewer errors, and faster paths to market.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Max VanRaaphorst is the Market Manager, Energy Storage at Avery Dennison Materials Group North America. With a decade of technical, sales and marketing experience in the adhesives and tapes field, Max strives to help OEMs and suppliers address design, manufacturing and performance challenges in the fast-evolving Energy Storage segment. Visit: www.tapes.averydennison.com