Coating manufacturer Teknos is participating in a project to develop bio-based binders and coatings as sustainable alternatives for fossil-based materials. The SUSBINCO project has been formed by a consortium of Finnish companies and research institutes with the aim of developing novel and bio-based product portfolios for manufacturing and commercialization in global markets.

“Sustainable binders and coatings are becoming more and more important. To combat climate change and resource scarcity, companies in all industries need to develop low-carbon, bio-based alternatives to fossil-based materials. In the coatings industry, the availability and price of materials as well as the high technical requirements have limited the usage of bio-based solutions. Therefore, it is important to develop new bio-based alternatives,” said Pasi Virtanen, Group R&D Manager, Innovations at Teknos.

The SUSBINCO project aims to develop binders and coatings that can be used in packaging, paints, adhesives, sealants, and abrasives. The objective is to achieve 80–100% bio-based content in the developed binders and coatings. The project began in autumn 2021 and ends in 2023.

“The ambition of this project is very high; enabling products with at least 80% of bio-content means doubling the current available bio-level. By the end of the project, we hope to have a range of polymers with high bio-based content that we can utilize widely in our own solutions. This is an important project, which also provides excellent support for our current corporate strategy,” Virtanen explained.

SUSBINCO will support Finland in becoming the development and market leader of bio-based solutions and has received funding from the Finnish export promotion institute, Business Finland. In addition to Teknos, the consortium partners are Brightplus, CH-Bioforce, CH-Polymers, Kiilto, MetGen, Metsä Board, Mirka, Montinutra, UPM-Kymmene, Valmet Technologies, Åbo Akademi University, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT), University of Oulu, Natural Resources Institute of Finland (Luke), Tampere University, and University of Eastern Finland.

“It is great to be part of such a wide and experienced consortium. As a coating manufacturer, Teknos aims to widen the end use applications of the coatings and binders developed in the project. In addition, we bring expertise on the technical requirements of the raw materials used in the coating industry. As a global company, we also expect to bring enhanced export potential to the solutions developed,” Virtanen concluded.