How innovation and safe-by-design principles are transforming a sector under pressure.
For decades, coatings have been essential to protect surfaces, extend the life of materials, and enhance performance in industries ranging from construction and energy to agriculture and packaging. Yet behind their glossy finish lies a hidden problem: most conventional coatings are derived from fossil resources, degrade very slowly, and can release persisteng micro-particles into the environment.
As industries push for greener and safer materials, the coatings sector faces a double challenge. On the one hand, there’s the need to reduce environmental impact – cutting emissions, toxicity, and pollution. On the other, coatings must still perform under extreme and demanding conditions: resist abrasion, heat, and chemical exposure while maintaining their protective function.
That’s where bio-based innovation steps in. Using renewable feedstocks, such as polyester-polyols and biomethane, new coating formulations promise to be biodegradable, recyclable, and non-toxic – without compromising durability or performance. However, the transition is not simple. Scaling up production, ensuring industrial compatibility, and earning the trust of manufactures and end users remain major hurdles for these raw materials.
The BIO4COAT project tackles these challenges head-on. Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, it brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of research centres, universities, SMEs, and industrial leaders to develop and validate safe and sustainable-by-design coatings. By integrating circular design principles and performance testing across eight strategic sectors – from plastics and textiles to energy and agriculture – BIO4COAT seeks to prove that sustainability and functionality can truly coexist.
Through its dual approach – bio-polyurethane coatings and methane-based diamond-like carbon coatings – the project is redefining what coatings can achieve. BIO4COAT aims not only to reduce the environmental footprint of coating production but also to create materials that can safely return to nature at the end of their life cycle.
The shift from traditional to biobased coatings is a complex journey, but one that holds the key to a more sustainable future – where protection no longer comes at the planet’s expense.