EU round up – EU launches new €78.6bn research programme

The paint and coatings sector will be able to bid for an increased pot of European Union (EU) funding for research projects under the new Horizon 2020 programme, which was approved in November. It has an overall budget exceeding €78.6bn and will run from January to 2020.

This exceeds the €54bn assigned to the outgoing EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for research, which ended on New Year’s Eve. Looking at current prices, €17bn has been allocated to ‘industrial leadership’; €24.4bn to ‘excellent science’; €29.7bn to ‘societal challenges’; and €2.7bn to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

All these budgets could fund projects developing innovative paints and coatings, with companies forming international consortia with universities and other organisations to apply for funds. The European Commission was to start issuing formal calls for proposals from December 11.

The paint and coatings sector has been a recent priority of EU research programmes, with the Commission releasing a steady stream of successful funded project reports.
For instance, an EU-funded NANOFLOC (Electro-agglomeration and separation of Engineered NanoParticles) project is under way to develop technology that removes nanoparticles from waste water contaminated by paint manufacturers who use nano-chemicals in ingredients. This will receive €1.1M in EU funding. It will end this year.

Another ongoing project is the AEROdynamic Surfaces by advanced MUltifunctional COatings (AEROMUCO <http://www.aeromuco.eu/>) project, designed to develop innovative multi-functional surface protection systems for aircraft, boosting fuel efficiency and reducing CO2 and NOx emissions as a result. This is receiving a €3.7M grant from the EU and should end this month.

Other EU paint and coatings news:

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has started its first assessment of a biocide under the EU’s new biocides regulation, looking at whether dinotefuran should be used as an insecticide. While it is under assessment, biocidal products containing that active substance will only be authorised by ECHA if there are no better alternatives.

Paint chemicals, including those for coatings and varnishings are among 56 new substances being assessed for potential toxicity to humans and the environment in a new draft EU Community Rolling Action Plan (CoRAP) for 2014-2016, which is co-ordinated by ECHA.

They include ‘2-ethyl-2-[[(1-oxoallyl)oxy]methyl]-1,3-propanediyl diacrylate,’ which helps make paint thinners, lacquers and varnishes; ‘resin acids and rosin acids, hydrogenated esters with glycerol (HRGE)’, which can help colour paints and coatings; and others.