Resilience Under Pressure

Q: Where do tapes and foams create value in renewables, and how does that connect to resilience?

Richard: Renewable energy production continues to scale, and efficiency gains are not only about building more capacity, but also about improving how reliably systems can be manufactured and operated. In wind energy, tapes can help streamline composite manufacturing, protect tools and equipment, and support improved surface structures. In solar, adhesive tapes can support bonding needs and protect sensitive components in outdoor environments. Foam and tape technologies can also provide sealing and watertight properties for wind, solar, and hydro applications where exposure resistance matters for long-term performance.

Q: What is one reliability issue you see most often in outdoor renewable installations, and what material property typically prevents it?

Richard: The most common reliability issue in outdoor renewables is moisture ingress, and the material property that most reliably prevents it is low water vapor transmission, supported by long-term compression set resistance.

Moisture ingress into outdoor renewable systems (solar modules and junction boxes, wind nacelles, battery enclosures, power electronics) shows up often due to continuous rain, humidity, condensation, and freeze–thaw cycles, long service lives (20–30+ years) and/or interfaces between dissimilar materials (metal-glass, metal-polymer, composite-composite).

Over time, even small gaps or degraded seals allow moisture to enter, which could lead to:

• Corrosion of conductors and fasteners
• Insulation breakdown and ground faults
• Accelerated aging of electronics
• Power loss and unplanned outages

Moisture ingress is a root cause behind many different observed failures, not just one visible symptom. It can be prevented by using low Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR), often paired with compression set resistance in foams. Low WVTR limits diffusion of water vapor through tapes, foams, and sealants which is critical for long-term protection, not just initial IP ratings. This is especially important for solar junction boxes, inverter housing, and battery packs. Compression set resistance ensures sealing foams maintain contact pressure after years of thermal cycling, UV exposure and mechanical relaxation. It also helps to prevent micro-gaps from forming over time. Together, these properties allow sealing materials to block moisture for decades, not just during commissioning.

Q: Why is energy transformation a materials challenge, not just an electrical design topic?

Richard: Much of the energy generated is not consumed where it is produced. It must be transported and transformed, and that puts reliability demands on equipment such as transformers, motors, and generators. In these systems, tapes support protection and electrical insulation under extreme conditions, enabling higher performance, reduced maintenance, and longer service life. As transformer designs evolve, developers are also exploring more sustainable resin systems, which increases the importance of chemical resistance and material compatibility in insulation solutions.

Q: What has changed in customer requirements for insulation and protection in power equipment over the last 12 to 24 months?

Richard: Over the last 12 to 24 months, customer requirements for insulation and protection in power equipment have shifted meaningfully. The changes are less about brand‑new applications and more about tighter performance windows, higher certainty, and lifecycle accountability.

Customers now expect insulation and protection materials to tolerate higher continuous operating temperatures, faster thermal cycling, wider ambient ranges (hotter heat waves, colder cold starts) and safety margins that used to be acceptable are now viewed as insufficient.

For used materials, this implies greater focus on long-term aging data, not just initial dielectric or thermal ratings, and more demand for materials that combine insulation + thermal stability + sealing in one solution.

Overall, we see increased demands for longer life and reliable climate‐resilience even under extreme weather conditions over two to three decades. Material selection is shifting from “initial compliance” to lifetime stability.

Q: Why is energy storage now central to energy security and supply chain continuity?

Richard: Wind and solar generation can be intermittent, and the mismatch between where energy is produced and where it is needed creates a balancing challenge. Energy storage helps bridge that gap by holding energy at one time so it can be used later.

There are many storage approaches, including pumped hydro, hydrogen, compressed air, heat, and gravity-based systems. For Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS), often based on lithium-ion systems similar to EVs, advanced material solutions such as compression pads, thermal interface materials, and thermal runaway protection materials can improve battery performance, extend lifetime, and increase protection through thermal management and barrier functions.

Q: Where do you see the biggest resilience opportunities in BESS design, thermal management, mechanical stability, safety validation, or serviceability?

Serviceability is the biggest underexploited resilience opportunity in BESS today. Not because thermal management or safety aren’t critical, but because serviceability amplifies the value of every other design decision over the system’s life. Serviceability determines whether a BESS remains an asset under real-world stress or becomes a liability.

Failure is inevitable: cells age unevenly, electronics drift, incidents happen. What matters is how the system recovers. True serviceability means non-destructive access and modular replacement of cells, modules, and power electronics. With time and manual work increasingly costly, downtime today is measured in hours or days, not weeks.

This is where real resilience is built. Serviceable systems turn failures into managed events rather than headline incidents. Faster, targeted repairs reduce lost revenue, avoid full-container derating, and significantly extend asset life, often beyond original financial models. At the same time, safety improves. Controlled access replaces field improvisation, and damaged components can be isolated and removed instead of being permanently entombed.

Materials quietly decide whether serviceability works or fails. Reworkable bonding solutions, compressible foams that reseal after access, and integrated thermal, electrical, and fire-protection functions enable maintenance without destruction. Poor material choices, by contrast, can make serviceability impossible even when the system architecture claims to support it.

Q: EVs are part of the broader energy ecosystem. Which material functions matter most for reliability and faster charging?

Richard: Developments in EV batteries have accelerated innovation that also translates into stationary storage. In lithium-ion batteries, compression pads used between cells help manage pressure during charging and discharging, while providing thermal and electrical insulation for improved performance and lifetime. Thermal interface materials help conduct heat away and regulate temperatures. Thermal runaway protection materials create a barrier that helps limit propagation risk in abnormal events. On the infrastructure side, fast and ultra-fast charging increases the need for electrical isolation and protection from the environment. Specialized tapes can support insulation and help seal charging stations against environmental influences, supporting safety and reliability as charging power increases.

If a customer’s goal is reducing charging downtime (EV chargers, fast‑charge cabinets, or battery energy storage systems), the two material‑related failure points that matter most are the ones that most often force derating or shutdown, not catastrophic failure.

Thermal interface degradation is one of the most common hidden reasons for charger power derating, because fast charging is usually limited by heat, not by electrical capacity. In many real-world cases, what looks like charger unreliability is the result of aging TIMs, foam compression set, or adhesive creep causing a loss of thermal contact rather than an electronics failure.

Moisture ingress at seals and interfaces is a major cause of unexpected charger shutdowns, especially in outdoor systems exposed to temperature swings, humidity, and condensation. Many so-called electronics failures are sealing and material issues that reduce insulation resistance, trigger fault events, and force systems offline until they are reset or repaired.

Q: Why do buildings belong in a conversation about energy security and resilience?

Richard: More efficient energy supply and electrification are important, but the largest impact often comes from reducing energy losses. Buildings are a major contributor to overall emissions, which is why renovation, highly efficient new construction, and modern lightweight construction methods matter.

Tapes help create air and watertight building envelopes that improve energy efficiency and living comfort. Advanced foam materials can combine sealing, dampening, and fire protection, and they can contribute to acoustic comfort as well. Lightweight and prefab construction is another area where tapes and foams support sealing and bonding applications that can simplify assembly and improve consistency.

Across renewables, power transformation, storage, electrification, and buildings, resilience is built through many small engineering decisions that reduce failure modes and simplify execution. Advanced tapes and foams often contribute by combining functions such as sealing, insulation, protection, and mechanical support in a single solution. That can help engineers design for reliability and help procurement teams reduce complexity, especially when supply conditions are volatile. If you are assessing resilience risks in an energy-related application, connect with Saint-Gobain® Tape Solutions to review constraints, validate material choices, and identify opportunities to simplify your design while improving reliability.