Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : PEEK vs PAI: why do Europe, China, and the US make different choices?

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Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

PEEK vs PAI: why do Europe, China, and the US make different choices?


Across the globe, OEMs face the same question: how do you insulate ever-smaller, ever-hotter hairpin windings? But as evidence shows, the solutions they pick are not just shaped by raw performance.


🇪🇺 Europe leads the PEEK charge.


Sustainability regulation is flipping the script. In 2025, the EU implemented the CAFE regulation, which sets a CO2 emissions limit of 93.6 grams per kilometre. Other significant regulations include EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542, which mandates design-for-recycling and carbon-footprint disclosure. As a result, solvent-free and re-meltable materials such as PEEK are quickly becoming the smarter choice for high-voltage insulation used by E-motor references like Schaeffer and ZF.


🇨🇳 China leans on enamel (for now).


Main-stream 400V models keep costs low with traditional thermoset coatings. With average EV sticker prices running about half of Europe’s, it’s all about volume. Cost is king!


However,  flagship 800V cars - such as Nio’s new Evs - are piloting PEEK to accommodate extreme voltages and correspondingly high charging speeds. With premium brands making the first moves, this signals that domestic PEEK capacity is ready to grow.


🇺🇸 The United States remains more the forefront.


Premium high-voltage architectures, like Lucid’s, choose PEEK for extra thermal headroom, while mass-volume 400V programs from legacy OEM’s remain committed to standard technology enamel until fast-charge networks catch up.


Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives paired with concerns over China-centric midstream push OEMs to favor materials that can be produced domestically. Hence the local supply chains can focus on the introduction of the newest solutions by setting-up extrusion capacity for PEEK coatings.


TLDR? Wherever sustainability policies, high-voltage efficiency, or supply-chain security outweigh first-cost pressure, PEEK wins. Or why I strongly believe Ampact’s future will be bright!


source : Vincent Vermeersch


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