Coating Materials & Processes for Sustainable Aviation: Challenges and Opportunities for the Entire Life Cycle

The aviation industry has announced ambitious sustainability goals, including the Fly Net Zero commitment of airlines to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the joint commitment from seven major aviation manufacturers to deliver technical solutions for decarbonizing aviation. Achieving these goals will require innovation throughout the product life cycle, including designing fuel-efficient aircraft, shrinking the environmental footprint of manufacturing, optimizing aircraft operations and maintenance, and maximizing recycling and reuse at end-of-life of the aircraft. Coating materials and processes can contribute to sustainability by enabling weight reduction, eliminating the use of hazardous materials, and reducing water consumption, energy use, and solid waste to landfill. An overview of the aircraft product life cycle will be presented, with discussion of the challenges, opportunities, and progress towards implementation of sustainable coating technologies including finishing of thermoplastic materials, hexavalent chromium elimination, novel inkjet methods for applying coatings, durable exterior coatings, and novel laser ablation methods for removing coatings.