UK Launches £1.38 Million Sustainable Coatings Network
A new UK research network has launched with £1.38 million in funding to accelerate development and adoption of sustainable coatings and advanced surface technologies.
The Surfaces for a Sustainable Future, or S4SF, EPSRC Network+ is led by Newcastle University and Northumbria University in partnership with Sunderland Software City. The Royal Society of Chemistry describes the initiative as the UK Network+ for Sustainable Coatings.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is funding the program. It will bring together academia, coatings manufacturers, technology organizations, policymakers and other stakeholders to coordinate work across coating chemistry, surface engineering, corrosion, tribology, digital materials and sustainable manufacturing.
The network is intended to address several challenges slowing development of lower-impact surface technologies. Organizers point to reliance on petrochemical feedstocks and hazardous chemistries, limited shared data infrastructure, uneven access to pilot facilities and the difficulty of moving promising research into industrial use.
Planned work includes proof-of-concept projects and demonstrators, feasibility studies, industrial secondments and access to specialist facilities. The network will also develop shared testing, data and modeling approaches.
Digital materials development is another focus. Organizers plan to incorporate AI-assisted formulation, digital twins and automated experimentation to reduce development and qualification time for new surface technologies.
Circular design is central to the program. Researchers will examine coatings designed to be repaired, removed, reused or recycled, along with alternatives to legacy chemistries and lower-energy coating processes.
The Royal Society of Chemistry said the initiative also supports its roadmap for sustainable polymers in liquid formulations. The organization estimates that more than 85% of liquid formulation polymers produced globally, around 31 million metric tons per year, are used in paints and coatings, inks and coatings, and adhesives and sealants.
Industry participants include AkzoNobel, Procter & Gamble, Triton Hydrogen, Walker Subsea, Enshore Subsea, Hydrostar Europe and Kona Clean Technologies. Other founding organizations include the British Coatings Federation, Royal Society of Chemistry, Henry Royce Institute, CPI and Innovate UK Business Connect.
Participating universities include Newcastle, Northumbria, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, Durham, Nottingham, Birmingham and Teesside.
The network brings formulation science, coatings manufacturing and digital R&D into the same program, with funding available to move concepts toward practical application. Its work directly aligns with PCI's Sustainable coatings coverage and the industry's push to replace higher-impact chemistries without giving up coating performance.
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