Coatings for Carbon Capture: Technology Growth Opportunities

Coatings for Carbon Capture: Technology Growth Opportunities

Growing industrialization and urbanization have raised carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere from 393 parts per million (ppm) in 2012 to 414 ppm in 2022. As carbon emissions rise, so does the focus of governments and carbon capture and storage firms to develop novel strategies to mitigate carbon emissions. Regulatory bodies are expected to continue strengthening environmental policies in the next 5–10 years and imposing huge penalties on industries that fail to meet carbon emission standards. Conventional carbon capture technologies can reduce emissions from point sources, whereas direct air carbon capture technologies involve high implementation costs for non-point sources carbon emission mitigation.

Carbon capture coatings offer a promising application outlook to curb carbon dioxide emissions from non-point sources. The coatings represent a viable alternative to conventional coating systems for building and construction, aerospace and defense, automotive, general industrial, healthcare, telecommunications, and consumer electronics sectors. Stringent global emission norms also encourage the elimination of solvents with highly volatile organic compounds.

The industry is shifting toward bio-based technology that mimics the natural photosynthesis process for carbon capture. Micro-algae-based carbon capture coatings offer a promising application outlook for the automotive, general industrial, and construction sectors. Stakeholders will likely accelerate the technology commercialization and production scale in the next 2 to 3 years. Several polymer-based coating manufacturers exist in the market; however, polymer-based carbon capture coatings are in the final stages of development and expected to be available commercially in the next 3 to 4 years. As the industry evolves, the metal organic framework and nanoparticle-based carbon capture coating technology landscape are forecast to grow significantly in the next 4 to 5 years, mainly attributed to factors such as high carbon uptake, stability, and extent of applications.

Captured carbon can pave the way toward developing valuable downstream products such as low-carbon fuels and chemical intermediates, reducing the overall cost of these materials. Scaling up hydrogenation and molten electrolysis technologies will also give stakeholders a competitive edge in the market. Public-private sector partnerships are also anticipated to boost their investment in constructing carbon capture storage infrastructure, including pipeline networks.

The study provides an overview of carbon capture coatings material types and application trends. It includes factors driving the adoption and development of new technologies, their challenges, and adoption strategies for better utility. The commercial landscape of technological advancements in carbon capture coatings is also covered in this research, including noteworthy companies in action.

Frost & Sullivan identifies key areas of technology development for carbon capture coatings in different domains, namely 1) Materials, including polymers, composites, nano and biobased; 2) Valorization technologies, including hydrogenation and molten electrolysis technologies; and 2) Application markets, including automotive, aerospace, power, building and construction. Companies increasingly focus on developing low-cost coatings formulations with efficient carbon capture ability without impacting mechanical and chemical performance. Strategic collaborations with research universities will play a crucial role in creating bio-based and nano-formulations with minimum environmental impact, thus promoting clean energy and circular economies.

Key points discussed:
What are the emerging technologies for carbon capture coating technology?
What are the R&D efforts in new material innovation for improved carbon capture uptake?
What are the new carbon capture coating materials and application trends along with their commercialization stage?
What are the growth opportunities for technology developers in carbon capture coating technologies?


  • Strategic Imperatives
    • Why Is It Increasingly Difficult to Grow?
    • The Strategic Imperative 8
    • The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Carbon Capture Coating Industry
    • Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine
    • Research Methodology
    • Research Scope and Segmentation
    • Emission Sources of CO2 and Their Suitability for Capture and Storage
  • Growth Opportunity Analysis
    • Carbon Capture Coatings Offer a Promising Mitigation Strategy to Reduce Carbon Emissions from Non-point Sources
    • Major Features of Carbon Capture Coatings
    • Carbon Capture Coatings: Application Outlook
    • Carbon Capture Coatings' Technological Development in Overcoming Restraints and Unmet Needs
    • Mitigation of Carbon Emissions from Non-point Sources Drives Demand for Carbon Capture Coatings
    • Light-blocking Matter, Cost, and Availability are the Major Restraints Associated with Carbon Capture Coatings
  • Technology Innovation
    • Nature-mimicking Carbon Capture Driving Development of Algaebased Coatings
    • PEI Functionalized Silica and Carbon Nanotube Coatings Offer a Promising Application Outlook for Carbon Capture
    • PEG Carbon Capture Coatings are Beneficial in the Production of High Formate Yield for Downstream Products
    • MgO/Carbon Nanofibers Carbon Capture Coatings Offer a Promising Application Outlook for the Aerospace and Defense Sector
    • Thermal Management for Building Applications Will Drive Aerogel Composites-based Carbon Capture Coatings' Development
    • Enhanced CO2 Uptake Ability is Driving Development for Quinonebased Carbon Capture Technology
    • High Surface Area and Framework Flexibility are Driving MOF Demand for Carbon Capture
    • Graphene Coatings Exhibit Enhanced Carbon Capture Uptake Compared to Competing Technologies
    • Titanium Dioxide-based Carbon Capture Coatings Offer a Promising Outlook for Optical Applications
    • Ultra-thin Coatings Applications with High Carbon Uptake Boost Carbon Nanotubes Carbon Capture Coatings Development
  • Innovation Landscape
    • Major Stakeholders Active in Carbon Capture Coatings R&D
    • Major Fundings for Carbon Capture Coatings Technology Development
  • Application Outlook
    • Carbon Capture Coatings-Comparative Outlook of Application Prospects
  • IP Analysis
    • IP Analysis Indicates an Increase in Patent Filing Activity in Carbon Capture Coatings from 2017-2021
    • Research Universities are the Most Active in IP Filings Related to Carbon Capture Coating Technologies
    • Graphene and PEG for Carbon Capture Coatings Registered the Highest Patent Filings from 2017-2021
    • Top Assignee Breakdown by Materials in Use for Carbon Capture Coatings, 2017-2021
  • Analyst Perspectives: Adoption Roadmap of Carbon Capture Coatings
    • Carbon Capture Coatings for Building and Construction, General Industrial Usage, and Power Generation Will Gain Momentum
  • Growth Opportunity Universe
    • Growth Opportunity 1: Scaling up Algae-based Carbon Capture Coatings for Building and Construction Applications
    • Growth Opportunity 2: Commercialization of Nano and MOF-based Carbon Capture Coatings with High Carbon Uptake and Stability for Power Generation, Healthcare, Aerospace, and Defense Sectors
    • Growth Opportunity 3: Advancement of Hydrogenation and Molten Electrolysis Technologies to Convert Captured Carbon into Valuable Downstream Products
  • Appendix
    • Technology Readiness Levels (TRL): Explanation
  • Next Steps
    • Your Next Steps
    • Why Frost, Why Now?

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