Canada

OK, it's clear this clear this thread is full of "experts" , but I actually worked in this industry.

1. Any exhaust piping from the engine before the cat is hot enough to ignite, and even more so if there is a turbo. It gets red hot. On teh top of the motor, at the exhaust manifold, these are insulated to keep heat out of the engine bay, but the heat from there to the catalytic convertor needs to be dissipated.

2. Catalytic converters have been around in cars since 1975. And heat shields made of thin aluminum. Not sure where this 2010 number comes from.

3. Aero coverings under a motor away from any exhaust routing are make of smooth ABS plastic , or PET, they are called "splash shields". PET is nicknamed "hairy cardboard" by mechanics. These are not skid plates. Skid plates protect the sump and transmission from impact damage and are typically thick steel or thicker aluminium and are aftermarket for off road use.

This is the actual part, it's a combination of splash shield and heat shield :

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/285530340600?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=706-89093-2056-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285530340600&targetid=1657783856815&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9000871&poi=&campaignid=17285617092&mkgroupid=135567174886&rlsatarget=pla-1657783856815&abcId=9300872&merchantid=5432291163&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17285617092&gbraid=0AAAAAD00iICQ4YNwezIZGjZ6fxz1ZDWZ3

It's a large pressed sheet of aluminum, with added noise insulation on the sides, but not the middle because of heat. It also has a NACA duct to direct cool air to the hot exhaust above it. It has to come out on this model to do an oil change. It is held in place by a series of plastic push clips which typically break when removed. It's not a good design. However, it has no weight, which is why the tech used nylon straps. I'm pretty sure what caused the failure was damage from driving over a speed bump tearing the aluminum, then air flow at speed ripped it apart.