Rhode Island’s Office of the State Fire Marshal has determined the cause of Wednesday’s explosion at the East Providence facility.
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Rhode Island’s Office of the State Fire Marshal has determined the cause of Wednesday’s explosion at the East Providence facility of Northborough-based manufacturer Aspen Aerogels, which injured 11 employees.
Wednesday night’s explosion at 3 Dexter Road was an accident caused by an accumulation of ethanol vapors in one of Aspen’s drying ovens, said Chief Deputy James Given. The office’s investigation is officially closed.
The explosion sent 11 people to healthcare facilities with non-life-threatening injuries, and all have since been released from medical care, he said.
The injured people were all Aspen employees, the company announced Thursday. WBJ has reached out to Aspen Aerogels for more details.
The facility is hiring a third-party engineer to determine whether there was a failure within the machine, Given said. The site is currently closed.
Founded in 2001, Aspen manufactures aerogel materials for electric vehicles and energy infrastructures. In 2025, the publicly traded company reported a $390-million net loss after generating $13.4 million in net income in 2024.
Aspen’s stock was trading at $3.48 per share on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday morning, down 7% from Wednesday afternoon. Over the same period, the NYSE Composite was flat.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries. 
