Sustainability and efficiency: driving innovation in protective coatings

What factors are currently shaping research and development in protective coatings?

Bown: In our core business, coil coatings, sustainability serves as the driver and connecting factor for all developments, guiding our R&D teams in their efforts to meet the global demand for new coatings that offer enhanced sustainable functionality. One of the primary areas of focus in the coatings industry is the use of more sustainable raw materials, specifically with a push towards those derived from the circular economy. In addition to this, there is a move towards more sustainable coil coating processes: many customers are for example seeking UV/EB (ultraviolet/electron beam) coatings that can help reduce their carbon footprint.

In general, everything contributing to a significant reduction in operational carbon, also known as the ‘Handprint’ is sought after. This also includes efforts towards energy reduction and the development of easy-to-clean coatings. The background here is that up to 85 % of the lifetime costs of a building come from its operation, maintenance and end-of-life impacts – whether demolition, recovery or reuse. Coatings, such as highly durable products that can help to reduce these add-on lifetime costs bring value to the project because they last longer and require less maintenance and repair. Cost-effectiveness is a significant trend shaping the industry. Reducing the applied cost of coatings is a priority, and we have instances where we have been able to achieve this while simultaneously improving sustainability performance, creating a win-win situation. Lastly, the industry is putting more focus on understanding whether paint film components can be recovered and recycled at end-of-life. Currently, there is no cradle-to-grave circularity in the coil coatings industry since coil coating paint is incinerated at the end-of-life when the metal is recycled. This is an area ripe for innovation and development.

What are the major challenges in the protective coatings market at present?

Bown: The number one challenge in coil coatings is decarbonisation or what we call “defossilisation”. In the coatings value chain leading to the coil coaters factory gate, approximately half of the CO2 emissions come from our purchased paint raw materials and suppliers, and the other half from the coil coating application and curing processes. The actual manufacturing of the coatings in Beckers’ operations contributes to less than 5 % of these emissions. Addressing this issue requires multi-stakeholder collaboration along the value chain on sustainable innovation. As a paint producer, we are working closely with our suppliers to find new raw materials that have a lower carbon footprint and are fossil-free. These include resins produced from plastic waste or renewable/biobased raw materials. However, we must also look further upstream for emerging technologies that could enable the production of decarbonized and more sustainable raw materials.

In addition, we need to work closely with our customers to innovate around the way coatings are applied to the substrate. A prime example of this is the UV/EB curing solution that we have developed at Beckers over the past two decades. This technology, which we made available to the market in 2023, will help customers make significant CO2 reductions, along with associated energy and carbon tax savings.

Reading tip: sustainability

Learn more about current approaches to produce coatings in a more environmentally friendly way and to give coated products a longer service life in the “EC Tech Report Sustainability“. In addition, its handpicked content dives deeply into the European Green Deal, its key points and main purpose as well as consequences for the coatings industry.