Chinese Carmakers Expand Own Fleets | PCTC Boom Drives Upgrade in Lithium Battery Fire Protection Materials

Recently, leading Chinese automakers including BYD have continued to expand their own ocean-going car carrier fleets, with orders placed for multiple 7,000 CEU LNG dual-fuel Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs). Since 2026, global PCTC newbuilding orders have remained at a high level. Chinese shipyards, backed by reliable delivery capacity and a complete supply chain, account for over 90 percent of the global PCTC construction market. As the share of new energy vehicles in export cargo rises, lithium battery fire protection standards on vehicle decks are continuously tightening, driving the marine fire and thermal insulation industry toward higher temperature resistance and stronger environmental compliance.

1. Carmaker Overseas Expansion Fuels PCTC Construction Boom

The sustained growth of China's automobile exports has directly boosted demand for ocean-going car carrier fleets. To secure supply chain stability and control logistics costs, leading automakers are shifting from chartered tonnage to owned fleets, driving concentrated orders for large PCTCs of 7,000 CEUs and above.

In terms of construction landscape, Chinese shipyards have become the core force of global PCTC building. Guangship International, China Merchants Industry, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and others hold solid orderbooks, covering vessel types from small ro-ro vessels to ultra-large car carriers, with propulsion evolving from conventional fuel to LNG dual-fuel and methanol dual-fuel. The large-scale and high-end construction of PCTCs imposes higher requirements on the performance, certification and delivery capability of supporting materials.

2. Rising NEV Share Poses New Fire Challenges

Conventional vehicle fires are dominated by ordinary combustibles, which existing A60 fire division systems can generally handle. However, as the share of battery electric vehicles in cargo grows rapidly, the new fire characteristics introduced by lithium-ion battery thermal runaway pose direct challenges to shipboard fire protection:

• Extreme temperatures: thermal runaway core temperatures can reach 800–1200°C, far exceeding ordinary vehicle fires. Sustained high-temperature impingement may cause conventional fire division materials to shrink and powder, losing fire integrity;
• Toxic smoke: thermal runaway releases highly toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen cyanide, putting enormous pressure on crew escape and ventilation systems;
• Re-ignition risk: internal chemical reactions sustain heat generation, and fires may re-ignite after extinction, which traditional extinguishing systems cannot fully suppress;
• Jet fire risk: battery pressure relief valves eject high-temperature flames, causing directed impingement on adjacent vehicles and bulkheads, with local heat loads far exceeding conventional fires.

This means fire divisions between vehicle decks and engine rooms / accommodation, as well as internal zoning within vehicle decks, must upgrade from "basic fire rating compliance" to "lithium battery extreme temperature resistance."

3. Rising Fire Standards Shift Material Selection Toward High Temperature

Facing the new challenges of lithium battery fires, shipboard fire standards and material selection are evolving noticeably. The design philosophy for vehicle deck fire divisions is shifting from single rock wool A60 solutions toward composite structures with a basic refractory layer plus a high-temperature reinforcement layer:

• Core fire divisions: main divisions between vehicle decks and engine rooms / accommodation still rely on A1 non-combustible materials to meet A60 fire integrity and insulation requirements;
• High-temperature zone reinforcement: areas adjacent to battery compartments and high-risk vehicle deck zones are additionally fitted with high-performance high-temperature fiber materials to withstand extreme thermal runaway temperatures and jet fires;
• Flexible installation: flexible high-temperature fiber blankets can be easily wrapped around bulkhead corners, penetrations and equipment interfaces, closing construction gaps left by rigid panels and improving overall fire division reliability.

Meanwhile, thermal and acoustic insulation demand for HVAC and exhaust systems grows in parallel, increasing consumption of medium-low temperature insulation on PCTCs.

4. Certification Becomes a Hard Threshold, Benefiting Leading Material Suppliers

Rising shipboard fire standards are also driving concentration in the supporting materials industry. On one hand, deep-sea vessels require insulation materials with full class society certification such as CCS and MED, supported by Material Declarations (MD) and Supplier Declarations (SDoc) to assist shipyards in IHM inventory compilation. On the other hand, environmental and health attributes are gaining importance. In crew-occupied areas, bio-soluble, non-carcinogenic high-temperature fiber materials are increasingly preferred.

Leading material manufacturers with full-range product portfolios, complete certification systems and stable delivery capacity will continue to benefit from the PCTC construction boom, with further market share concentration.

Harmony's full product range — AES bio-soluble fiber, RCFWOOL ceramic wool and marine glass wool — holds CCS Type Approval and MED Wheel-Mark certification, fully covering PCTC needs including vehicle deck fire division, high-temperature zone reinforcement, HVAC duct insulation and cabin acoustics.