PPG COATINGS EUROPE BV

Their core work

PPG Coatings Europe is the European R&D and manufacturing arm of PPG Industries, one of the world's largest coatings companies. In the H2020 context, their work centers on advanced marine hull coatings designed to reduce ship fuel consumption and underwater biofouling — the accumulation of organisms on ship hulls that increases drag and carbon emissions. They develop both chemical-biological solutions (non-toxic fouling-release films) and physics-inspired solutions (air-lubrication coatings based on biomimetic surface textures). Their contribution to EU projects is industrial: they bring formulation chemistry, coating application know-how, and the ability to scale laboratory results into commercially deployable products.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 work (eSHaRk, 2015-2019), PPG focused on conventional fouling-release chemistry — non-toxic films that prevent marine growth and reduce drag, with measurable fuel and emissions savings. By the AIRCOAT project (2018-2022), the emphasis shifted toward physics-based drag reduction inspired by the microstructure of the Salvinia water fern, which traps an air layer to reduce hull-water friction. This trajectory — from chemical surface treatment to biomimetic micro-architecture — suggests PPG is investing in next-generation coating platforms that go beyond existing antifouling chemistry.

PPG is moving from passive fouling prevention toward active drag reduction through surface microstructure, a direction aligned with tightening IMO emissions regulations and growing demand for fuel-cost solutions in commercial shipping.

How they like to work

PPG has taken both the coordinator role (eSHaRk) and the partner role (AIRCOAT), showing they can lead when the project is close to their core product line and join as an industrial implementer when the core technology originates elsewhere. With only 13 unique partners across 2 projects, their consortia are compact and likely structured around a specific technology demonstration rather than broad multi-sector networks. This suggests they are selective collaborators who engage when there is a clear pathway to a commercially applicable coating product.

PPG has collaborated with 13 distinct partners across 6 countries, a focused network consistent with small innovation consortia in the maritime coatings space. No geographic concentration data is available, but the Netherlands base and Transport pillar suggest North Sea / European shipping industry ties.

What sets them apart

PPG Coatings Europe brings something most academic or SME partners in marine coatings cannot: industrial-scale formulation capability and an existing global distribution network for coating products. This means that technologies developed in EU projects have a credible path to commercial deployment rather than remaining at demonstrator stage. For consortium builders targeting Innovation Actions with real market impact, PPG's involvement signals industrial readiness and access to the shipping and shipbuilding sector as an end-user channel.

Highlights from their portfolio

• eSHaRk
  PPG acted as coordinator on this project — rare for a large industrial company — developing a non-toxic, fuel-saving hull film system that integrates fouling release and drag reduction in a single product.
• AIRCOAT
  The largest-funded project in their portfolio (EUR 307,303) and technically the most ambitious, applying the Salvinia-effect biomimetic air-layer concept to a real ship hull coating for the first time.