Bakelite is also known as phenolic resin or simply "plastic", and is a compound composed of carbolic acid and formaldehyde.   In the first few years of the 20th century, a Belgian born scientist named Dr. Leo Baekeland was working as an independent chemist when he stumbled upon Bakelite.  He had already patented Velox and sold it to Kodak for $750,000, and was trying to develop a less flamable substance to be used for bowling alleys, which was the rage at the time in New York.  He found that Bakelite was not only insoluable and infusible, but also remarkably durable, resilient, and had numerous applications.

Bakelite was used in Evangelion to suppress the berserk Eva Unit 00, the Adam embryo was sealed in bakelite to protect it, and in the movies bakelite is released throughout the Nerv complex to slow the invasion of the JSSDF troops.