There are sectors or industries where the use of water-borne products has a stronger position than others. For example, the 2007 VOC emissions regulation forced the entire European Automotive Refinish market to switch to water-borne paints a few years ago. Decorative paints are also predominantly water-borne. But there are still many industrial applications where solvent-based coatings dominate. The coatings industry, including paint manufacturers of course, but also raw material suppliers, needs to invest in developing better water-borne solutions.
- Water-borne coatings will become more popular in industrial applications, especially those related to the public sector, as they need sustainable suppliers and solutions for their own operations, such as maintenance and public transport.
- The development of reliable technologies for water-borne clearcoats that could be equivalent in terms of overall performance (gloss, durability, etc.) would go a long way to reducing VOC emissions in the Automotive Refinish market. We are sure that this will be a key area for improvement in the coming years.
- Regulations that could be more restrictive in terms of VOC emissions for all those companies that have any coating processes on their own premises (industry, body shops). These regulations could accelerate the introduction of water-borne systems.
- An increase in public grants could help companies adopt more sustainable technologies, such as water-based paints, in their own industrial processes. Finally, it would be possible to encourage innovation in water-borne coatings by creating specific programmes to link companies with research centres and public universities.
Insights from David Dominguez (Briolf): The future of water-based coatings
