On 14 April 2026, the Circular, Sustainable and Biobased Coating Cluster held the online workshop entitled "Sustainable Materials for Coatings”, the second in a series of ten events designed to gather input from the community working on bio-based, circular and sustainable coatings.
Coatings are present across a wide range of everyday sectors – from packaging and construction to textiles and beyond. The shared ambition of replacing fossil-derived materials with biobased alternatives is also reaching the coatings industry, where researchers and innovators are working to develop solutions that are not only high-performing but also sustainable and circular.
With this goal in mind, the “Sustainable Materials for Coatings” workshop brought together leading researchers and innovators from EU-funded projects to share the latest advances in biobased, sustainable, and circular coating materials, and to place this work within the broader European policy landscape. The four projects that form part of the cluster – BLUECOAT, SUPREME, BIO-SUSHY and BIO4COAT – were joined by external contributors Adriana Kyvik (B’ZEOS) and Natnael Behabtu (IFF), reflecting the growing community of innovators working in this space.
Speakers covered a diverse range of topics, including the use of cellulose-based materials for coatings, the valorisation of algae, modified corn starches, dry powder lignin-based coatings for electrostatic spray applications, and beet and sugar cane-derived enzymatic biomaterials for sustainable barrier coatings. The session concluded with a Q&A round with the speakers.
The Circular, Sustainable and Biobased Coating Cluster was formally established in November 2025 with the support of European Bioplastics. A series of technical cluster events will follow to consolidate knowledge on sustainable, circular and biobased coatings. The proceedings and white paper, including key policy messages, are publicly available on Zenodo, and the recording and presentations can be accessed through the following links:
Proceedings and White Paper: Zenodo.
Recording of the event: Youtube.
Presentations: Zenodo.