Smart Coatings Market Expected to Reach $3 Billion

Recent research shows that the market value of global smart coatings is expected to grow from 363 million U.S. dollars in 2013 to 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, and the quality and performance will also overrule the price as the first consideration when selecting coatings.

The growth momentum of the smart coating market is mainly driven by new applications, including construction, energy, military, automotive, medical and consumer electronics. Among them, self-cleaning paints accounted for the largest proportion, the market value will reach 1.4 billion US dollars in 2018, while the anti-corrosion coating will reach 449 million US dollars.

Self-cleaning coatings have the fastest growth in non-glass substrate areas such as aluminum wallboard, floor tiles and textiles. Although self-cleaning coatings in the glass field are widely used, research shows that there will be plenty of room for growth in existing and emerging fields, including anti-fog and anti-glare applications.

Smart anti-corrosion coatings are mainly used in the extreme areas that traditional coatings cannot meet. Multi-purpose intelligent anti-corrosion coating mainly solves oxidation, abrasion and other conditions, which is also the future direction of smart coatings. At present, the supply of multi-purpose intelligent anti-corrosion coatings is small and the scope of supply is also limited.

Smart paint consumption in the construction and automotive sectors accounts for 70% of the total, but this proportion will gradually decline in the next few years, only 37% by 2020. Potential demand for self-cleaning coatings for solar panels will increase the proportion of smart paint consumption in the energy sector to 25%.

In addition, the prosperity of the regional market depends on whether consumers are willing to pay for scratch-resistant and more energy-efficient coatings.

The concept of smart paint intelligence is that, compared to traditional paints, traditional paints generally have only protective and decorative coating materials. Usually these properties are one-way, that is, this property cannot change with the surrounding environment. While responding, smart paint is different. It can respond to changes in the external environment in a controllable manner, resulting in adaptive special performance, so that the coating continues to be effective.