EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) and TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) are both materials commonly used in various industries for their flexibility and durability, but they differ in composition, properties, and applications. Nowadays, TPE (and TPV) are replacing EPDM in many cases, but why? Let’s dive deeper into their applications, composition, properties and processing to better understand their differences and similarities.
Applications
Both EPDM and TPE are widely used across industrial and commercial sectors, but their ideal use cases differ based on performance requirements, design needs, and sustainability goals. We have listed the most common ones below.
EPDM
EPDM is a highly versatile material used across various industries due to its exceptional durability and resistance to environmental factors. In the automotive sector, EPDM is widely employed in seals and gaskets, which are crucial for maintaining the integrity of vehicle components. Its ability to withstand extreme temperatures and harsh conditions makes it ideal for use in engines, transmissions, and other critical systems. Additionally, EPDM is the material of choice for radiator and coolant hoses, where its heat resistance and flexibility ensure reliable performance in high-temperature environments.
In the construction industry, EPDM is valued for its weather resistance and long-lasting durability. It is commonly used in roofing membranes, providing a watertight and UV-resistant solution that can last for decades with minimal maintenance. EPDM is also essential for weatherstripping in buildings, creating tight seals around windows and doors to prevent water, dust, and air from entering, thereby enhancing energy efficiency and protecting interior environments.
Beyond construction and automotive uses, EPDM’s excellent electrical insulation properties make it ideal for insulating cables and wires in various industrial and consumer electronics. Its resistance to water and weathering ensures reliable performance even in harsh conditions, making it a preferred material for maintaining the safety and functionality of electrical systems.
Overall, EPDM’s unique combination of flexibility, durability, and resistance to environmental factors makes it indispensable in a wide range of applications, from automotive seals to roofing membranes and electrical insulation. Its ability to perform reliably in demanding conditions ensures its continued use across multiple industries.
TPE
Thermoplastic elastomers are prized for their flexibility, versatility, and wide range of applications across various industries. In the construction industry, TPE is commonly used for soft-touch grips and handles, offering both comfort and durability in tools and equipment. Its ability to be over-molded onto other materials makes it ideal for creating ergonomic, slip-resistant surfaces, enhancing the usability of hand tools and other products frequently handled by workers.
In the automotive industry, TPE is extensively used in interior components, such as dashboard trim, cup holders, and other soft-touch elements. The material’s ability to combine flexibility with a durable, aesthetically pleasing finish makes it perfect for enhancing the look and feel of vehicle interiors. TPE’s versatility also allows it to be used in over-molded parts, providing seamless integration of different materials in automotive applications.
TPE’s properties make it well-suited for medical devices and equipment. Its flexibility, along with its ability to be sterilized, makes TPE an excellent choice for various medical applications, from tubing and seals to soft-touch surfaces on medical instruments. TPE’s biocompatibility ensures that it can be safely used in direct contact with the human body, which is crucial for many medical devices.
Additionally, TPE is widely used for cable and wire insulation due to its good electrical insulation properties and resistance to environmental factors. Its ability to be re-melted and reprocessed without losing its properties also makes TPE a more sustainable choice, particularly in applications where cables and wires need to maintain flexibility and durability over time. The combination of these features makes TPE a highly adaptable material across multiple sectors, from construction to automotive and medical applications.
Material Composition and Behavior
EPDM is a thermoset rubber made from the polymerization of ethylene, propylene, and a small amount of diene monomers. This means that once it is vulcanized (a chemical crosslinking process), it cannot be remelted or reshaped. This structure gives EPDM excellent durability and performance in harsh environments, but it also limits recyclability and reprocessing. Its saturated polymer backbone gives it excellent resistance to environmental factors like UV radiation, ozone, and weathering.
TPE, on the other hand, is a class of materials that combines the properties of thermoplastics (like polyethylene and polypropylene) with those of elastomers (such as rubber). TPEs are typically made up of hard and soft segments: the soft segments provide elasticity, while the hard segments offer structural integrity. This dual nature makes TPEs highly versatile. With ”TPE” this article refers to the more common TPE-S types.
As thermoplastics, TPEs soften when heated and harden when cooled, allowing them to be remolded multiple times without significant degradation. This reprocessability not only streamlines production but also contributes to better material efficiency and sustainability.
Several types of TPE exist, including TPV and TPU, each suited to different applications. At V.A.V. Group, we use tailored TPE and TPV solutions rather than TPU due to their greater versatility in processing, recyclability, and compatibility with extrusion-based sealing applications. If you’re deciding between TPE and TPU, check out our article on TPE vs TPU – What’s the Difference?
What matters about composition differences
The composition itself does not play a significant role in the actual use of the profile, but it does in the manufacturing process. EPDM profiles are much harder to join than TPE or TPV profiles, which means they cannot be “welded” together like our TPE/TPV profiles. To create angles or round shapes from an EPDM profile, the joint requires a joining block or an adhesive, which may become a weak link later on. TPE and TPV profile ends are simply heated, and the two ends are then pushed together to form a very reliable connection that requires no additional adhesives or other materials. Next, we’ll look at the physical properties of both materials.
Physical Properties
EPDM
EPDM is a highly versatile material known for its excellent weather resistance, making it ideal for applications exposed to harsh environmental conditions. It performs well in extreme temperatures, with a range of -50°C to 150°C, ensuring durability in both cold and hot environments.
In addition to its thermal stability, EPDM also offers excellent electrical insulation properties, making it suitable for various electrical applications. The material is highly resistant to water, steam, and certain chemicals, which enhances its suitability for a wide range of industrial uses.
While EPDM is generally rigid in its natural state, it can be formulated to offer greater flexibility to meet specific performance requirements. One of its key advantages is its ability to maintain shape and integrity even after prolonged compression, which ensures long-term reliability in demanding sealing environments.
However, EPDM does come with some limitations. Over time, it may become brittle, which can negatively impact performance in certain applications. The material also has limited hardness options and is typically only available in black, offering no color customization. Additionally, producing very robust, thin, or small profiles from EPDM can be challenging due to its inherent processing characteristics.
Despite these drawbacks, EPDM remains a popular choice in industries requiring a durable, weather-resistant material, particularly where long-term outdoor exposure is a key concern.
TPE
Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) are known for their outstanding flexibility and elasticity, making them highly adaptable for a variety of applications. One of TPE’s key advantages is its wide range of hardness options, allowing customization from very soft and rubber-like to quite rigid materials. This adaptability is further enhanced by the availability of a broad spectrum of color options, which makes TPE especially valuable in industries where aesthetics matter alongside functionality.
TPE offers moderate to excellent resistance to UV radiation and weathering, depending on the specific formulation. This makes many TPE grades suitable for outdoor use. TPE also has good chemical resistance, although performance can vary between types. For example, TPV (Thermoplastic Vulcanizates)—a subtype of TPE—offers exceptional chemical resistance, often surpassing that of EPDM in harsh environments. You can read more about TPV in our Material Guide.
From a manufacturing perspective, TPE is extremely versatile. It supports a wide range of thicknesses, shapes, and sizes, and it is well-suited to co-extrusion and complex profile designs. TPE is also easier and more energy-efficient to process than EPDM, due to its thermoplastic behavior.
In terms of thermal performance, most TPEs can withstand continuous use up to 90°C, with some formulations handling temperatures as high as 135°C. At the low end, TPE remains flexible and effective down to -30°C, making it suitable for a variety of climate conditions.
One limitation of standard TPE is that it does not handle long-term compression quite as well as EPDM. However, TPV once again stands out here—its compression set resistance is very similar to EPDM, making it a strong alternative in demanding sealing applications.
Key differences in customizability
TPE is more customizable than EPDM, even though it may lack some of EPDM’s features, such as withstanding extreme temperatures. TPV (thermoplastic vulcanizates) can be considered a highly functional hybrid between these two materials. In most cases, TPE can replace EPDM, which has been a growing trend in the industry in recent years. To better understand the reason for the change of materials, let’s look at the manufacturing process next.
Processing and Sustainability
Beyond physical performance, how a material is processed and what happens to it after use play a major role in its overall impact. Next we will explore the key differences between EPDM and TPE in terms of manufacturing efficiency, recyclability, and sustainability, in order to understand not just how they perform, but how they fit into a more circular production model.
EPDM: Durable, but not recyclable
EPDM is a thermoset material, meaning that once it undergoes vulcanization (curing), it cannot be melted or reshaped. This irreversible chemical cross-linking process gives EPDM its excellent durability and stability, but also makes it non-recyclable.
Common processing methods for EPDM:
- Extrusion – for long, continuous profiles like seals and gaskets.
- Injection molding – for complex 3D shapes.
- Compression molding – for larger, simpler parts.
However, once EPDM is cured, any excess material or production scrap cannot be reused. This limits material efficiency and increases waste management costs, especially in high-volume manufacturing.
TPE: Highly reprocessable and efficient
TPEs, by contrast, are thermoplastic, which means they can be melted and reprocessed multiple times without significantly degrading their performance. This makes TPE much more material-efficient and opens the door to closed-loop manufacturing.
TPE processing methods:
- Injection molding – ideal for detailed, complex parts.
- Extrusion – for continuous profiles such as tubing or weather seals.
- Blow molding – for hollow parts like hoses and flexible containers.
The ability to re-melt, granulate, and reuse TPEs not only improves sustainability but also allows for greater design flexibility and faster cycle times—both key in high-performance, cost-sensitive applications.
👉 Learn more about our Bio-TPE solution, which offers renewable content and further reduces environmental impact.
EPDM vs. TPE – Processing and sustainability comparison
| Feature | EPDM (Thermoset) | TPE (Thermoplastic) |
| Reprocessability | ❌ Cannot be remelted or reused | ✅ Can be melted, reshaped, and reused |
| Common Processing Methods | Extrusion, injection, compression | Injection, extrusion, and blow molding |
| Scrap/Waste Reuse | ❌ Not possible | ✅ Production waste can often be recycled |
| Recyclability | ❌ Energy waste only | ✅ Recyclable and compatible with circular use |
| Processing Energy Use | 🔥 Higher (due to curing) | 💡 Lower (no vulcanization needed) |
| Sustainability Potential | ⚠️ Limited | 🌱 High, especially with Bio-TPE |
While EPDM may be less expensive up front, its lack of recyclability and higher waste output can increase total lifecycle costs. This is a key reason why manufacturers across industries are increasingly turning to TPE and TPV as more sustainable, circular alternatives, without sacrificing performance.
Should you replace EPDM with TPE?
Not necessarily. EPDM remains the go-to material in many demanding applications, especially where extreme weather, heat, or chemical resistance are critical. In roofing and some industrial insulation products, its long-term durability is well-established.
However, when sustainability, lightweighting, and processing efficiency are priorities, TPE offers significant advantages. It’s increasingly being used in transport, construction, and consumer product design—especially when recyclability is important.
In summary, EPDM is a specialized synthetic rubber known for its excellent weather and environmental resistance, making it a good solution for outdoor applications and sealing purposes. On the other hand, TPE is a versatile material with a wide range of hardness options, colors, flexibility, and re-processability. It is suitable for various consumer and industrial applications where elasticity, a wide range of color options, and ease of processing are essential.
The choice between EPDM and TPE depends on the application’s specific requirements. If TPE can directly replace EPDM, our clients usually select TPE profiles for their reusability and other advantages. TPV is not as widely used as TPE, but it offers a solution in cases where TPE reaches its limits in replacing EPDM.
Silicone for truly demanding applications
For especially demanding environments involving extreme temperatures, high pressure, or aggressive chemicals, silicone rubber may be the better choice over both TPE and EPDM. While silicone shares some of EPDM’s limitations in terms of recyclability, it offers exceptional thermal stability, chemical resistance, and longevity, often outperforming both EPDM and TPE in critical conditions. V.A.V. Group also offers Fire X, our specialty fire-rated silicone materials for applications where flame resistance is essential.
Do you want to hear more about replacing EPDM profiles with more environmentally friendly alternatives? Contact our sales to map out your needs, and we will find the right solution for you!
How to get your TPE and Silicone profiles from V.A.V. Group
How does the process of ordering, designing, and producing your custom-made seals and profiles work? Here’s our quick guide that maps out the entire journey from beginning to end!
