Dr. Sonja Schulte, Editor in Chief of the European Coatings Journal, opened the Plenary Session of the European Coatings Congress on Monday morning. She noted that as research scientists drive coatings innovation around the world, the Congress was interested in the input of the technical experts in the audience. Schulte introduced an interactive poll for all attendees to participate in via a remote control device. Seven polling questions were given, and the results were displayed immediately. Following are the questions, and the results.

1. Which of the following technologies do you judge to be the most important future technology?

1.     Waterborne

2.     UV

3.     Powder

4.     High Solids

5.     Functional/Smart Coatings

41% of respondents answered “Waterborne” as the most important future technology, while 40% felt that “Functional/Smart Coatings” were the most important.

2. What area will see the most significant innovation in the next three years?

1.     Additives

2.     Pigments

3.     Fillers

4.     Binders

5.     Production Technology

6.     Solvents

55% responded that “Binders” will show the most innovation, while 24% answered “Additives”, 9% said “Pigments”, 6% said “Production Technology”, and 5% said “Fillers”.

3. What drives R&D?

1.     Market Demands

2.     Care and Responsibility for Society

3.     Raw Material Prices

4.     Legislation

70% of respondents said “Market Demands” were the strongest driver, while 12% said “Care and Responsibility for Society”, 10% said “Legislation”, and 9% said “Raw Material Prices”.

4. Which regulation occupies most of your time?

1.     REACH

2.     Classification and Labeling

3.     Biocidal Product Directives

4.     VOC

5.     Food Contact

32% responded that “REACH” occupies most of their time. 31% said “VOC”, and 15% said “Classification and Labeling”.

5. What role does sustainability play?

1.     Indispensible

2.     Important

3.     Not Really Important

4.     Not at All Important

63% responded that sustainability is “Important”, 27% said “Indispensible”, and 10% said “Not Really Important”.

6. To what extent will fossil-based raw materials be replaced by renewable raw materials in the next five years?

1.     10%

2.     20%

3.     50%

4.     More than 50%

5.     Less than 10%

34% of respondents said “10%”, 32% said “20%”, 26% said “Less than 10%”, and 7% said “50%”.

7. Are you in favor of the development of a consistent, industry agreed-upon methodology for measuring sustainability?

1.     Yes

2.     No

3.     Unsure

80% of respondents said “Yes”.