• 3rd November 20253rd November 2025
• By Vooba
• 0 Comments

How Mica insulation powers the Automotive and Aerospace industries

When you think of electric cars or modern aircraft, you probably picture sleek designs, advanced batteries or cutting-edge electronics. But behind all that exciting innovation, Mica insulation is keeping everything running safely.

Mica is a naturally remarkable material, it can withstand extreme heat, insulate against electricity and stay strong under pressure. It might not make the headlines but it plays a key part in keeping EV battery packs safe, flight recorders secure and aircraft systems protected.

At Elmelin, we’ve spent decades turning this material into practical solutions that engineers and manufacturers can rely on. Our work helps make vehicles and aircraft safer and built to last. Let us explain how Mica powers the Automotive and Aerospace industries and its impact.

Why Mica Matters

Mica’s natural properties are extraordinary. It’s heat-resistant, non-combustible, mechanically stable, and an excellent electrical insulator. These qualities make it ideal for applications where safety and performance are non-negotiable, from high-voltage EV batteries to aircraft flight recorders.

At Elmelin, we transform mica into both pure and combined insulation solutions, tailored to meet the needs of each industry. Over the years, we’ve also diversified our offering beyond mica – providing microporous insulation, gasketing and waterproofing applications.

Powering the Automotive Industry

The automotive sector is undergoing a transformation unlike any we’ve seen before. The shift toward electric and hybrid vehicles is driving the need for advanced safety measures and sustainable solutions.

Mica-based insulation plays an incredibly important part in supporting this transformation. Here’s how:

Battery Pack Insulation

EV batteries generate significant heat during operation and charging. Without effective thermal management, battery performance and safety can be compromised.

Our mica insulation ensures:

• Thermal stability across every cell
• Passive fire protection, reducing the risk of thermal runaway
• Electrical insulation, protecting high-voltage components
• This combination ensures that battery packs remain safe even under the most demanding conditions.

Compression Pads Plus

Our Compression Pads Plus are designed to extend the life and safety of EV battery packs. By maintaining uniform mechanical pressure, they ensure secure electrical and thermal connections while allowing the battery pack to expand and contract during use.

The result? Longer battery life and enhanced reliability – critical for the performance of electric vehicles.

Sustainable Thermal Solutions

Sustainability is at the heart of modern automotive engineering. Our mica-based insulation and Elmtherm microporous materials help manufacturers design more energy-efficient, environmentally responsible vehicles.

Benefits include:

• Reduced energy loss through superior thermal regulation
• Support for net-zero initiatives, helping manufacturers meet environmental targets
• Lightweight insulation, which contributes to overall vehicle efficiency

Mica’s durable and lightweight nature makes it ideal for the diverse challenges of the automotive sector, from high-voltage battery packs to hybrid and alternative fuel systems.

Safety Above All Else in Aerospace

In aerospace, there’s no margin for error. Aircraft components operate under extreme temperatures, high voltages, mechanical vibration and weight constraints, requiring materials that provide the highest level of safety.

Mica-based insulation is uniquely suited to meet these requirements:

High-Temperature Insulation

Our mica insulation materials are used in:

• Aircraft interiors to provide thermal protection
• Heat shields to safeguard sensitive components
• Battery and avionics systems to ensure operational safety

Flight Recorder Protection

Flight recorders, or black boxes, are among the most critical components on any aircraft. They must survive catastrophic events, including fire, impact and even deep-sea pressure.

Mica’s non-combustible, heat-resistant properties protect these devices, ensuring vital flight data remains recoverable in any scenario.

Fireproofing and Thermal Shields

Mica-based composites also serve as fire barriers and thermal shields throughout aircraft systems. They prevent flame spread, contain heat, and protect critical electronics and components.

Industrial Insulation Expertise Beyond Mica

While mica is at the core of our business, our expertise extends to diverse insulation technologies:

• Flexible laminates for foundries and steel industries
• Rigid mica sheets and tubes
• Microporous materials with exceptional high-temperature insulation properties
• Gasketing and waterproofing applications

Our diversified offering allows us to respond flexibly to customer needs, whether delivering off-the-shelf solutions or highly bespoke products.

Why Choose Elmelin?

Choosing Elmelin means choosing a team that has a deep understanding of industrial insulation across multiple sectors, including automotive, aerospace, foundry & steel and more. Our long history means we’ve seen every kind of application, from high-voltage EV batteries to extreme aerospace conditions, and we know what works and what doesn’t.

Get in Touch

If you’re looking to improve safety or explore sustainable insulation solutions, get in touch with us today. Call us on 020 8520 2248 now.

• 23rd September 202523rd September 2025
• By Christian
• 0 Comments

Being a part of the responsible Mica initiative

Our heritage and our responsibility

At Elmelin, our history stretches back to 1912, when we began processing mica in Walthamstow, London. From these roots, we’ve grown into a specialist in industrial insulation, providing innovative high-temperature thermal and electrical solutions.

Serving industries as diverse as aerospace, foundry, automotive and domestic appliances, we’ve continuously evolved for more than a century.

Mica has always been at the heart of what we do. It’s a mineral with some remarkable properties: heat resistance, electrical insulation and versatility across countless applications. However, we also know mica’s story isn’t always a positive one. Too often, it comes from regions where poverty drives unsafe working conditions and, in some cases, child labour.

Because of our long history with mica, we feel a responsibility to be part of the solution.

Keep reading to learn more.

What is the Responsible Mica Initiative?

We’re proud to support the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) and commit to creating a supply chain that’s fair and sustainable.

The RMI is an international coalition of companies and organisations all committed to ensuring that mica is mined and processed in a way that respects people, communities, and the environment. Its work is focused on three pillars:

• Responsible Workplace Standards – promoting safe and fair working conditions.
• Community Empowerment Programs – creating alternatives through education, healthcare and livelihood opportunities.
• Legal and Governance Frameworks – strengthening regulations to protect workers and children in mica regions.

These efforts matter because mica is woven into modern life. It is used in paints, plastics, cosmetics and countless electrical and automotive components. The demand will only grow as industries innovate. If this demand is not matched by responsibility, vulnerable communities will continue to bear the cost.

By supporting the RMI, we are helping to transform the mica industry from the inside, building a supply chain that is fair and transparent.

Our Commitments for 2025

We’re not here just to talk about responsibility, we want to show how we’re putting it into action. For 2025, we set out some clear steps to support changes across the mica industry:

Taking a leadership role

We’re proud to be serving on the RMI board, helping shape the initiative’s overall direction. By being part of the decision-making, we can make sure the realities of industrial applications of mica are considered while pushing for stronger, fairer supply chains.

Full traceability through The Madagascar Project

Madagascar is a key source of phlogopite mica, the type we use most in our products. That’s why our involvement in the RMI Madagascar Project is so important. For the first time, it gives us traceability all the way back to the mine. This means we can be confident the mica we use is responsibly sourced, while helping ensure miners and their families are supported.

Supply chain transparency

We are integrating our mica supply chain into Tilkal, a blockchain-based platform that enables end-to-end traceability. This technology ensures that every step, from mine to finished product, is visible and verifiable.

Building on sustainability

Our involvement in RMI is an extension of our wider company vision: to enable net-zero carbon solutions through innovative insulation technologies. Just as we help customers reduce their environmental impact, we are committed to addressing social and ethical challenges in the mica industry.

As an ISO 9001:2015 accredited company, we apply rigorous standards of quality and continuous improvement not just to our products, but also to the way we source and manage raw materials.

Looking ahead

Mica miners and their communities depend on the global mica supply chain just as much as industries depend on mica’s unique properties. At Elmelin, we believe the path forward must be one where both thrive. Our work in 2025 and beyond will continue to focus on transparency and positive change.

To find out more about the Responsible Mica Initiative and how we’re making a difference, call us on 020 8520 2248 now.

• 16th November 20234th December 2023
• By Christian
• 0 Comments

3 benefits of flexible mica sheet as an insulation solution

Flexible mica sheet is a versatile material that offers a range of benefits for a variety of applications. The mica, a group of silicate minerals known as sheet silicates because of their formation in distinct layers, are light, relatively soft, and have excellent heat resistance and non-conductive properties. There are 37 different mica minerals, including lepidolite, biotite, phlogopite, and muscovite. At Elmelin, our insulation solutions use mica as a core component, harnessing the physical and chemical properties of mica to provide our solutions with superior insulating qualities.

Mica sheets come in two different mineral types, muscovite and phlogopite, and each of these can come in both rigid and flexible sheets. The purpose of the insulation will determine whether rigid or flexible will be most suitable, whereas the difference between muscovite and phlogopite predominantly comes down to the poorer electrical resistance but greater flexibility of phlogopite. Flexible mica sheets will often be stored and transported in rolls, with ours coming in two different grades, MF SSP (Phlogopite mica) and MF SSM (Muscovite mica).

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