Rising Global Demand for Meta-Aramid Paper as AI Power Consumption Expands

As artificial intelligence (AI) data centers continue to proliferate and the United States replaces its aging power grid, global demand is rising for meta-aramid paper—a high-heat resistant and high-insulation material. With a market structure currently dominated by a few key suppliers, efforts to diversify supply chains are gaining traction, thereby expanding opportunities for companies with domestic production capabilities to enter the market.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity consumption by data centers is expected to nearly double from 485 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025 to 950 TWh in 2030. A study by the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that about 55% of the distribution transformers currently in operation have been in use for over 33 years.

With both the expansion of data centers and the replacement of aging power grids taking place simultaneously, investment in power infrastructure—including transformers—is increasing, which in turn is driving up demand for insulation materials used in these systems.

Meta-aramid paper is a high-performance material featuring excellent heat resistance and electrical insulation. It is used as an insulating material in transformers and electric vehicle drive motors, and demand is expected to grow as investments in power infrastructure expand and the electric vehicle market recovers.

It has been reported that global demand for meta-aramid paper has surpassed supply since 2025, and the market is projected to continue expanding even after 2030. Notably, there is growing demand—particularly in Europe and the Americas—to reduce reliance on existing supply chains and diversify sources.

Significant changes have also occurred in the global supply structure. In April of this year, Aclan—a portfolio company under private equity firm TJC—completed its acquisition of DuPont’s aramid business, including brands like Nomex and Kevlar. As the business structure of key suppliers shifts, the market’s attention to stable raw material procurement and diversified supply chains is also increasing.

ENBioNIA is preparing to enter the meta-aramid paper market by securing raw material supply chains, proprietary production technology, and mass production facilities. The company’s strategy is to build a domestic supply system spanning from raw material procurement to product manufacturing in order to target global demand for supply chain diversification.

Its core competitive strength is proprietary manufacturing technology. ENBioNIA is developing its meta-aramid paper business based on a wet-laid process that disperses various fibers in water and shapes them into sheets.

Unlike general wet-laid processes, meta-aramid paper production requires specialized processing technologies and equipment tailored to the material’s unique characteristics, including raw material blending and dispersion, precision dewatering, and high-temperature calendering. From 2012 to 2015, ENBioNIA conducted joint research with major domestic conglomerates, and since then has accumulated mass-production technology through related patents, pilot production lines both domestically and overseas, and reliability testing.

The raw material supply chain has been established based on a strategic partnership with Toray Advanced Materials Korea. The two companies signed a raw material supply agreement and a strategic business alliance in 2022, and have collaborated not only on raw material procurement but also in technology development and sales and marketing.

In June of this year, Toray Advanced Materials Korea completed the expansion of its second meta-aramid fiber production line, bolstering its raw material production capacity, including its existing line. ENBioNIA explains that this move gives it a stable foundation for obtaining the raw materials needed for future mass production of meta-aramid paper.

Construction of production facilities is also underway. ENBioNIA is building dedicated meta-aramid paper production facilities at its Jecheon plant in North Chungcheong Province, having already completed the main factory building and proceeding with the installation of key equipment such as paper machines and calendering systems in preparation for mass production.

The company plans to integrate raw material supply, dedicated production facilities, and processing technology into a single system, establishing a domestic production structure for high-performance insulating paper. The strategy is to target the global market, which is seeking supply chain diversification, while also responding to rising demand buoyed by increased investments in AI data centers and power grids.

ENBioNIA also sees the growing demand for high-heat resistant insulation materials—driven by recovery in the electric vehicle market—as a medium- to long-term growth factor.

A representative from ENBioNIA stated, "As demand for AI data centers and transformers continues to rise, we are seeing moves to diversify supply sources given the supply structure dominated by major suppliers," adding, "We expect the importance of stable raw material procurement and securing a domestic production base to become even more pronounced."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.