PPG, federal agency partner to develop coatings for auto industry

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and PPG recently partnered to develop energy-efficient coatings systems for the automotive industry.

PPG project’s, Modeling Coating Flow and Dynamics during Drying, was one of 11 research projects that will receive funding through the DOE High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation program.

Under the program, LBNL experts and PPG scientists will collaborate to accelerate the introduction of new multilayer coatings systems that can be co-cured in a single, lower-temperature bake. This would reduce paint line energy consumption for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM) by as much as 30 percent.

“Beyond the energy savings achieved from fewer curing steps and faster process times, our research will provide a foundation for future models for water-based coatings and lighter-weight vehicle substrates,” Xinyu Lu, PPG development engineer, automotive OEM coatings, said. “PPG is at the forefront of coatings technologies that can help vehicle manufacturers significantly reduce their costs and environmental footprints.”

In 2019, PPG also received funding for a program intended to increase automotive manufacturing throughput and enable vehicle lightweighting.

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewables and the Fossil Energy Office funds the program. It uses high-performance computing to help improve manufacturing processes.