• Aerogels have ultra-high nano-porous structures, which enabled them to be optimal candidates for thermal protecting materials.

• However, most aerogels are mechanically brittle and are not suitable for thermal insulation of structures with complex geometries where material’s flexibility is required.

• To allow a certain flexibility in the aerogel structures, research endeavors produced materials that can be divided into two main categories: “induced” and “inherently” flexible aerogels. Most of the flexible aerogels that are commercially available belong to the “induced flexible aerogels”, where the flexibility of the structure is induced by additives and components other than the aerogel material itself.