FResCo

Products such as ship ropes and nets, façade cladding and paving tiles are used outdoors and exposed to the elements for most of their lifespan. Over time, micro-organisms, algae or moss accumulate on their surfaces. This process, also known as biofouling, has a negative impact on the surface material and the product’s performances.

Controlling biofouling is an expensive process. That’s why businesses prefer preventive measures such as the treatment of materials with special coatings. In their search for durable, non-toxic coatings, companies have been looking for bio-based coating materials for over a decade. Such materials are currently available, but their commercial use is limited due to their poor performance.

The intercluster project FResCo (Fouling Restraining Coatings for marine and terrestrial applications) is aimed at overcoming these limitations by developing new bio-based coating additives that can be used commercially in marine as well as terrestrial applications. To this end, the project will look into various suitable biopolymers such as chitin, chitosan, pectin and alginate.

The above-mentioned biopolymers are abundantly available on our planet. However, the commercial availability of these biopolymers is fairly limited, and they need to be modified to meet specific coating requirements. The modification of these biopolymers, their formulation and eventually their applications are the core focus of FResCo.

By the end of the project, the industry will have access to new, non-toxic and bio-based antifoulants that can be used commercially in marine as well as terrestrial applications. This way, FResCo will support businesses in making their products more sustainable.

The FResCO project, which is facilitated by spearhead clusters Catalisti and Blue Cluster, was recognized as an intercluster project within the Flemish bio-economy policy plan, which is financed from the Flemish Resilience Recovery Plan. With these resources, the Flemish government provides an extra boost by supporting (inter)cluster projects between the research world and various private sectors that fall within one or more of the themes defined in the bioeconomy policy plan.