This edition of the Advanced Coating & Surface Technology Opportunity Engine (TOE) highlights significant advances in coatings and surface treatments for a wide range of industrial applications. Featured innovations include next-generation low-emissivity coatings for lightweight transparent glazing, plant-based edible films as alternatives to plastic packaging, and biocide-free self-polishing antifouling coatings for commercial vessel hulls. The TOE also explores pressure-activated cold seal coatings for paper-based packaging, physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings for advanced surface engineering, and filtered carbon coatings for hydrogen fuel cell bipolar plates.

Other developments in focus include single-coat powder coatings that eliminate the need for primers and rose petal-inspired coatings designed for anti-icing applications. The TOE also covers glaze-enabled self-healing ceramic coatings for extreme environments, bio-based edible coatings for chemical-free produce preservation, and polymeric cold spray repair technologies for fiber-reinforced composites. Additionally, the TOE profiles thin tungsten disulfide (WS₂) coatings designed to advance semiconductor interconnect technologies. The TOE also addresses questions such as:

• How can you benefit from innovations that enhance surface performance, durability, functionality, energy efficiency, and sustainability across diverse industrial applications?
• In what ways can your team gain intelligence on key technologies, products, processes, and applications impacting various coatings across industries?
• What are wide range of opportunities emerging for protective & functional coatings, antimicrobial coatings, food coatings, energy-saving coatings, smart glazing, hydrophilic & hydrophobic coatings, corrosion protection coatings, and barrier coatings?