Seven progressive organisations have received a grant for the pioneering project ‘Biodegradable Coatings’. This project combines the expertise of participating parties to create innovative and circular paint solutions.
Challenges and targets
The European Green Deal poses major challenges for the paint sector. Emissions must be substantially reduced, waste needs to be repurposed as raw materials and microplastics must be contained.
The raw material transition is complex and evolves slowly. In addition, the reduction of microplastics poses a serious conflict of interest. How can you achieve the protective effect of a coating on the window frame while this coating should fall apart in nature?
Cooperation for sustainability
Royal Van Wijhe Verf, Wydo, CliQ, Ecoat, ChainCraft, the Hanze and Groningen University join efforts to work together on solutions for the paint of the future. For this, the consortium receives support under the MOOI-regulation provided by the growth fund Biobased Circular and the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth.
Impact of the project
In recent years, sufficient access has been created to resources such as green electricity, insulation measures and electric cars to reduce companies’ emissions. Within Royal Van Wijhe Verf, this has led to a strong reduction of the carbon footprint. Now it is the time to substitute raw materials to further reduce the carbon footprint of paints.
Limited supply and innovation
The current supply of sustainable paint raw materials is still limited, resulting in challenges to achieve the environmental impact as desired. For essential ingredients, we still depend on mined materials originating from countries with less strict regulations. This poses both environmental and problems regarding working conditions. In addition, solutions to the current microplastics in paints are not yet available.
Consortium and objectives
To accelerate the raw material transition in the paint industry, a consortium has been formed with companies and knowledge institutes that combine their knowledge and expertise to develop alternative paint ingredients. Most of these raw materials will be developed from bio-based waste streams. Ultimately, the consortium will work on concept versions of an indoors wall and lacquer paint, with a significantly lower carbon footprint and fully biodegradable products.