Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Electrical equipment and Epoxy resins

Epoxy is the solid insulation of the grid: transformer windings, switchgear parts and insulators are cast in it, so a build-out of transmission and distribution pulls on resin supply, and trade duties on resin feed straight into equipment makers' costs.

Electrical equipment (industry) and Epoxy resins (chemical): 3 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Cast resin insulation

Physical flow · Strong · Epoxy resins → Electrical equipment

Epoxy cures into a hard, void-free solid with good dielectric strength, so it is used to cast or impregnate transformer windings, bushings, switchgear spacers and insulator cores; three enterprise types in electrical equipment depend on it, rated up to 4 of 5 on criticality.

  • 4 of 5 criticality for transformer makers
  • up to 36 kV high-voltage rating of a cast resin dry-type range
  • class F insulation temperature class of the same range

In a cast resin dry-type transformer the windings are built up with glass fibre rovings and epoxy, and ribs join the high- and low-voltage windings into one block; the maker says such units need no vaults, containment dikes or fire suppression. That suits sites where fire risk matters. The site rates transformer makers 4 of 5 on criticality for dry-type insulation, and insulator and switchgear makers 3 of 5 for cast resin and insulating parts.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • Power and distribution transformer makers: dry-type insulation (criticality 4 of 5)
  • Insulation, polymer and insulator suppliers: cast resin parts (criticality 3 of 5)
  • Switchgear, motor and drive makers: insulating parts (criticality 3 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; Hitachi Energy

2. Duties on imported resin

Policy · High in India · Indian trade remedies on epoxy raise equipment input costs

India imposed anti-dumping duties on liquid epoxy resin from five Asian suppliers to protect domestic resin makers, which shifts cost onto downstream users such as cast resin and insulator makers.

  • US$ 37 to 483 anti-dumping duty per tonne, by producer
  • 5 years duration of the duty, from late 2025
  • 5 origins covered: China, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand

The duty, notified in late 2025, applies by exporter and covers shipments routed through third countries. For equipment makers the likely effect is higher input cost rather than a supply break, and it pushes buyers towards qualifying domestic resin.

Sources: Indian Chemical News

3. Grid build-out

Transition · Rising · Electrical equipment growth drives epoxy demand

Dry-type transformers, switchgear and insulators all use cast resin parts, so equipment volumes set the pace of electrical-grade epoxy demand.

  • US$ 59 billion India's electrical equipment consumption, 2025
  • 11% annual growth of that consumption, 2020 to 2025
  • nearly 40% share from transmission and distribution

India's demand for electrical equipment grew about 11% a year between 2020 and 2025 and import dependence rose from 22% to 33%, so local supply of insulation materials is part of the push to make more equipment at home.

Sources: McKinsey and Company

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Epoxy is rated up to 4 of 5 on criticality for transformer makers and 3 of 5 for switchgear and insulator makers, so resin supply matters to equipment output more than its tonnage suggests.
  2. India's anti-dumping duty of US$ 37 to 483 a tonne on liquid epoxy resin from five Asian origins favours domestic resin producers and raises costs for import-reliant equipment makers.
  3. Indian electrical equipment demand growing about 11% a year, with nearly 40% from transmission and distribution, is the main volume driver for electrical-grade epoxy in India.

What to track

  • Liquid epoxy resin prices in Asia: Rising prices squeeze equipment makers on fixed-price grid contracts (Weekly · ICIS, ChemAnalyst)
  • Transformer and switchgear order books: Strong orders signal rising cast resin demand (Quarterly · company results, IEEMA)
  • DGTR trade remedy actions on epoxy and its feedstocks: New or lapsing duties change import parity for Indian buyers (As issued · DGTR, CBIC notifications)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. Trade remedies on resin protect chemical producers but raise costs for electrical equipment makers that India also wants to grow, so duty design needs both industries in view.
  2. Cast resin dry-type units avoid the containment and fire suppression that oil-filled units need, so rules that favour them in buildings and other fire-sensitive sites raise epoxy demand.
  3. With electrical equipment import dependence at 33% in 2025, domestic supply of insulation materials is part of reaching manufacturing targets.

What to track

  • Import volumes and prices of liquid epoxy resin (HS 390730): Shows whether duties are shifting supply to domestic plants (Monthly · Ministry of Commerce export-import data bank)
  • IEEMA production index for transformers and switchgear: Measures domestic equipment output that uses cast resin (Monthly · IEEMA)

India

India imposed five-year anti-dumping duties on liquid epoxy resin imports in late 2025 while its electrical equipment demand, about US$ 59 billion in 2025, grows at about 11% a year, so the country is weighing resin self-sufficiency against equipment costs.

Sources

  1. Industry map: Electrical equipment, Material Insights (2026)
  2. RESIBLOC dry-type transformers, Hitachi Energy (2025)
  3. India imposes anti-dumping duty on import of liquid epoxy resins from China PR, Korea RP, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand, Indian Chemical News (2025)
  4. Wired for growth: India's electrical-equipment opportunity, McKinsey and Company (2026)