New Energy Technologies Are New Coatings Prospects

By Yu Liping


With the worldwide energy shortage getting worse and oil prices remaining high, investment in alternative energy sources such as solar energy, nuclear energy and wind energy has greatly promoted. The fast development of new energy in turn provides unprecedented opportunities for relevant coatings.

1. Wind Energy Coatings

In 2010, China installed 18.93 million kW new capacity for converting wind energy, pushing domestic capacity to 44.73 million kW. However, as China's own supporting coatings industry is still at the initial stage, coatings for installed wind systems are nearly all imported. Among foreign brand coatings, Danish Hempel enjoys the largest market share in China's tower coatings business. Other established players are Norwegian Jotun, Netherlandish Akzo-Nobel and American PPG Sigmakalon. In blade coatings, German Mankiewicz, Bergolin and BASF Relius are competitive. The "Film Type" fan blade coating protection system launched by PPG Sigmakalon can reduce the volume of coating applied by 60%, and the coating's properties are no different, with improved flexibility and good corrosion as well as weather resistance. As China's wind energy coatings industry began later than developed countries, currently few manufacturers can join in competition, mainly including Northwest Yongxin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., COSCO Kansai Paint & Chemicals Co. Ltd., Hunan Xiangjiang Paint Group Co., Ltd., Goldenfish Group Shijiazhuang Paint Company, Changzhou Pulanna Coating Co., Ltd., etc.
   During the 12th Five-year Program period from 2011 to 2015, China's wind energy installed capacity will continue its rapid growth, certainly energizing the wind energy coatings industry. Based on China's recent output of wind turbines, the production value of wind energy coatings is estimated to have exceeded RMB1 billion in 2010, for example, the 3.16 million kW installed capacity in Jiuquan of Gansu required around 3 000 tons of tower and blade coatings in combination, worth RMB150 million. China's wind energy installed capacity is targeted to reach 100 million kW in 2015, and the market value of wind energy coatings consumed (for new installations alone, not repairs and maintenance) that year could be RMB3-4 billion.
   Wind fields that are suitable for wind farms require equipment coatings with good weather resistance, water tolerance, adhesive force, anti-corrosive effectiveness, tough surface film of coatings and high impact resistance. In recent years, the technology for coating wind turbines has developed rapidly, with new techniques and products stepping into the market continuously. Consequently, the performance of the coatings that are in use has been significantly improved. Though solvent based coatings still dominate, high performance two-component water borne polyurethane coatings, which are more in line with green values, have been applied to some turbines. In addition, the superior performance of fluorocarbon coatings has been recognized by consumers.
As China's wind energy coatings industry started later and the standards in use here are insufficient, domestic R&D programs have few points of reference for blade coatings. Certification systems should be established and promoted to raise market access requirements and generally set expectations for quality, helping to ensure healthy and sustainable development of the industry.

2. Nuclear power coatings

In nuclear power stations, a common preventive measure is the application of external coatings , including weather resistant coatings, liquid resistant coatings and buried environment coatings.
   Following the construction of Qinshan Nuclear Power Station - the first nuclear power station in China - domestic coatings research institutes and manufacturers have made great efforts in R&D of coatings for nuclear power stations. For example, Lanzhou Yingtong Special Material Institute developed high temperature resistant coatings, Shanghai Kailin Paint MFG Company developed nuclear island inner coatings of epoxy and Changzhou Coatings Chemical Research Institution developed its NC series of coatings. Qinshan and Daya Bay nuclear energy stations have operated for over 10 years. Qinshan phase II, III, Lingao and Tianwan Nuclear Power Stations have been completed in succession, accumulating valuable experience regarding coatings and their application. At present, many private enterprises like Guangzhou Supe Chemical Co., Ltd. started to research nuclear plant coatings. The main foreign suppliers of nuclear energy-related special coatings include CarbolineCo., AmeronInc., PPG (Keeler&LongInc.). In China, COSCO Kansai Paint & Chemicals Co. Ltd. and PPG have started to produce special coatings for nuclear energy applications.
   Domestic special coatings have met requirements of nuclear power stations, but the main pigments, fillings and accessory ingredients have to be imported. Without certain funding and sufficient experimental data, such impediments facing domestic coatings enterprises can hardly be overcome. In addition, the development bottleneck for China's wind energy-related special coatings lies in experimental and technical conditions.

3. Solar Energy Coatings

In both domestic and overseas markets, special coatings for photovoltaic power generation are still predominantly in the R&D stage. Australian scientists have developed a kind of coatings that absorbs solar energy and transforms 98% of solar energy into heat energy. Thanks to these new coatings, the efficiency of changing heat energy to electricity is over 20%.
   Australian XeroCoat has signed a contract to supply anti-reflection and high-absorption coatings to a large solar energy manufacturer, which will make use of other optical coatings and heat system coating materials produced by XeroCoat. British and Japanese scientists are also working on solar energy coatings. So far, no successful coatings have been reported by a Chinese company.