Vermiculite is useful as a lightweight and absorbent packaging material, but it doesn't function well as a fire suppressant. Vermiculite will not extinguish a fire before its fuel supply is completely exhausted, so if you're shipping flammable or combustible materials or goods, you might want to consider a safer alternative.
CellBlockEX is a lightweight filler that serves as a functional fire suppressant to quickly extinguish thermal runaways. Since every second of a lithium-ion battery fire presents an opportunity for a chain reaction, rapid suppression is essential for curtailing danger.
The following video demonstrates why CellBlockEX is superior to vermiculite as a packaging medium when shipping lithium-ion batteries or other potentially hazardous products and materials.