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Sustainable insulating materials for power systems

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering volume 3, pages 86–100 (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

Insulating materials are key components of power systems for the generation, transmission, storage, conversion and utilization of electrical energy. However, most insulating materials remain unsustainable and pose increasing environmental concerns. Developing sustainable insulating materials is therefore essential for achieving long-term sustainability in power systems. This Review summarizes the gas, liquid and solid insulating materials widely used in power systems and outlines strategies for improving their sustainability, including substitution, benign degradation, recycling, reuse and resource conversion. The Review also highlights the scientific and technological challenges in materials design, waste conversion and engineering applications, together with pathways involving policy frameworks, technology maturity and industry standards towards global net zero goals.

Key points

  • Developing sustainable insulating materials is mandatory for achieving net zero power energy systems.

  • Sustainable substitution, recycling and reuse are important for the development of sustainable insulating materials.

  • Policy frameworks, technology maturity and industry standards are key factors influencing the development and application of sustainable insulating materials.

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Fig. 1: Application and impacts of unsustainable insulating materials in power systems.
Fig. 2: Towards sustainable gas insulating materials.
Fig. 3: Towards sustainable liquid insulating materials.
Fig. 4: Towards sustainable solid insulating materials.
Fig. 5: Pathways to net zero power systems enabled by sustainable insulating materials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank J. Hao for his technical assistance. The authors’ research work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 92466203 (S.X.), 52373012 (J.C.), 92366203 (X.H.), 52425303 (X.H.) and 52421006 (X.H.)).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Yi Li, Jie Chen, Shengyao Shi.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Power Grid Environmental Protection, School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China

    Yi Li  (李祎), Shengyao Shi  (石生尧), Ju Tang  (唐炬) & Song Xiao  (肖淞)

  2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, State Key Laboratory of Polyolefins and Catalysis, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China

    Jie Chen  (陈杰) & Xingyi Huang  (黄兴溢)

  3. Institute of Future Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, P. R. China

    Qi Kang  (康琪)

  4. Key Laboratory for High-Efficiency Utilization of Solar Energy and Operation Control of Energy Storage System, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China

    Xiaoxing Zhang  (张晓星)

  5. School of Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, P. R. China

    Xingyi Huang  (黄兴溢)

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  1. Yi Li  (李祎)
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Contributions

Y.L., J.C. and S.S. contributed equally to this work. Y.L., J.C., S.S., S.X. and X.H. reviewed the literature, analysed the data, provided ideas, and wrote and revised the manuscript. Y.L., J.C., S.S., S.X. and X.H. designed the figures presented in the article. All the authors contributed substantially to discussion of the content.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xiaoxing Zhang  (张晓星), Song Xiao  (肖淞) or Xingyi Huang  (黄兴溢).

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Supplementary information

Glossary

Acid value

A measure of the amount of free fatty acids in an oil, expressed as the number of milligrams of a neutralizing agent (typically KOH) required to neutralize the acids in 1 g of the substance.

Dielectric barrier discharge

An electrical discharge that occurs between two electrodes separated by an insulating dielectric material.

Diels–Alder cycloaddition

A cycloaddition reaction between a conjugated diene and a substituted alkene (or dienophile) that forms a substituted cyclohexene derivative.

Dynamic covalent bonds

(DCBs). Covalent chemical bonds that can reversibly break and reform under specific, controlled conditions, enabling rearrangement of molecular structure.

Electrical tree process

A pre-breakdown phenomenon in solid insulation in which partial discharges initiate microdefects that evolve into branched, tree-like conductive channels and, ultimately, lead to insulation breakdown.

Global warming potential

(GWP). A measure of the cumulative energy absorbed by the emission of 1 tonne of a gas over a given time period relative to the emission of 1 tonne of CO2.

Low-density polyethylene

(LDPE). A thermoplastic polymer of ethylene characterized by a density range of 917–930 kg m–3.

Material-genome concept

A research paradigm that seeks to accelerate materials discovery and design by integrating theory, computation and experimentation into a data-driven framework.

Net zero

A policy target referring to the balance between anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and removal rates, such that net emissions are zero.

Non-thermal plasma

A plasma that is not in thermodynamic equilibrium, typically characterized by energetic electrons and comparatively low gas temperatures.

Ozone depletion potential

(ODP). A relative measure of the capability of a gas or chemical substance to destroy stratospheric ozone, expressed as the ratio of its ozone-depleting effect to that of trichlorofluoromethane, which is assigned a reference value of one.

Polydispersity index

A parameter that characterizes the breadth of a particle size or molecular weight distribution in a material.

Pulsed Townsend

A diagnostic technique used to measure electron and ion swarm parameters in gases using pulsed electric fields.

Steady-state Townsend

A diagnostic technique used to measure ion swarm parameters in gases under steady electric field conditions.

Synergy effect

A phenomenon in gas mixtures in which the dielectric strength exceeds the mole fraction-weighted sum of the dielectric strengths of the individual components.

tan δ

The dielectric loss tangent, defined as the ratio of energy dissipated as heat to energy stored in a dielectric material subjected to an electric field.

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Li, Y., Chen, J., Shi, S. et al. Sustainable insulating materials for power systems. Nat Rev Electr Eng 3, 86–100 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44287-025-00254-7

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