Home Industries Mayor: Aspen Aerogels eyes reopening East Providence plant on May 12

Mayor: Aspen Aerogels eyes reopening East Providence plant on May 12

By

Matthew McNulty

-

05/05/2026

MS0911EastProv21 — ROBERTO DASILVA, mayor of East Providence, told Providence Business News Tuesday that Aspen Aerogels is planning to reopen its East Providence Plant on May 12. /PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

EAST PROVIDENCE – Aspen Aerogels Inc. is on track to restart operations at its Dexter Road facility as soon as May 12, more than a month after an April 8 explosion injured 11 employees and forced the plant to shut down, Mayor Roberto L. DaSilva told Providence Business News on Tuesday. DaSilva said the timeline

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EAST PROVIDENCE – Aspen Aerogels Inc. is on track to restart operations at its Dexter Road facility as soon as May 12, more than a month after an April 8 explosion injured 11 employees and forced the plant to shut down, Mayor Roberto L. DaSilva told Providence Business News on Tuesday.

DaSilva said the timeline is based on a recent text update from company CEO Donald R. Young.

He added that the company has continued paying employees while operations remain offline.

“The last thing I heard is that the employees are still getting paid,” he said.

[caption id="attachment_517052" align="alignleft" width="300"] ASPEN AEROGELS Inc. said Wednesday that it had finished 2025 with a loss of $389.6 million.

ASPEN AEROGELS Inc. said Wednesday that it had finished 2025 with a loss of $389.6 million.

ASPEN AEROGELS Inc. has continued to pay employees since an April 8 explosion injured 11 workers and forced a plant shutdown, according to East Providence Mayor Roberto L. DaSilva.[/caption]

The company is continuing engineering reviews, inspections and safety work in coordination with regulators as it moves toward reopening, said DaSilva.

“They’re doing their due diligence on the engineering and inspections,” DaSilva said, adding Aspen is “on track for a potential May 12 restart.”

The R.I. State Fire Marshal’s Office determined the explosion was caused by an accidental buildup of ethanol vapors inside a drying oven.

The blast damaged portions of the building and manufacturing equipment and sent debris across the facility, officials said.

All 11 injured workers were transported to local hospitals and later released.

City officials also said the oven involved in the explosion had open permits that had not been finalized and had not received a final inspection, an issue that remains under review.

Aspen Aerogels has been working with state environmental regulators to ensure all requirements are met before restarting operations, DaSilva said.

The company has not publicly confirmed a reopening date but said it will provide additional updates during its first quarter earnings call on May 7.

Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.