Positive Outlook: Application Trends of Epoxy Resins in the Coatings Sector Over the Next Five Years, with a Corresponding Increase in Curing Agent Demand
Stringent global restrictions on VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions (e.g., the EU REACH Regulation, China’s Emission Standards for Air Pollutants from the Coatings, Inks, and Adhesives Industry) are driving the transformation of epoxy resin coatings toward water-based and high-solid-content directions. Benefiting from its low-VOC characteristics, water-based epoxy resin coatings are seeing a rapid increase in penetration in fields such as building floors and industrial anti-corrosion. It is expected that the global water-based curing agent market will reach 1.36 billion US dollars by 2031, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.8%. Meanwhile, high-solid-content coatings, due to their high construction efficiency and excellent performance, are experiencing significant demand growth in large-scale infrastructure projects such as wind power equipment and bridges.
- Wind Power Equipment: Driven by the "dual carbon" policy (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), China’s wind power installed capacity is expected to reach 650 GW by 2025. The demand for epoxy resin coatings for wind turbine blades will exceed 1.2 million tons, leading to a surge in the demand for anhydride-based curing agents.
- New Energy Vehicles: Scenarios such as battery pack protection and charging pile insulation have a strong demand for high-weather-resistance epoxy coatings. It is expected that the relevant market scale will exceed 5 billion yuan by 2025, with the annual demand for amine-based curing agents growing by 25%.
Yueyang Zhongzhan Technology specializes in the production of amine-based curing agents and epoxy accelerators (DMP-30/K54). For inquiries, please contact us via phone or email: 13975090964.
- Electronic Packaging: The upgrading of the 5G base station and semiconductor industries is driving the demand for electronic-grade epoxy coatings. The market scale is expected to reach 8–10 billion yuan by 2025, with the proportion of latent curing agents rising to 15%.
Technological breakthroughs such as low-temperature curing (the curing agents produced by Yueyang Zhongzhan Technology can still cure at -5℃) and resistance to extreme environments (e.g., anhydride systems that withstand high temperatures of up to 180℃) will promote the application of epoxy resin coatings in high-end fields such as aerospace and hydrogen energy storage and transportation. At the same time, nano-modification technologies (e.g., graphene-reinforced coatings) can improve the wear resistance of coatings by more than 30%, further expanding application scenarios.
The global epoxy coating market is expected to grow from 39.549 billion US dollars in 2024 to 77 billion US dollars in 2030, with a CAGR of 4.99%. Assuming the dosage ratio of curing agents to epoxy resins is approximately 1:10 (dominated by amine-based types), the demand for curing agents will reach 770,000 tons by 2030. As a core growth engine, China’s epoxy coating market reached 124.978 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan by 2030, corresponding to a curing agent demand of about 200,000 tons.
- Amine-Based Curing Agents: They will remain dominant (accounting for over 70%), but the proportion of high-performance modified amines (e.g., low-viscosity, low-toxicity products) will increase from 45% in 2024 to 60% in 2030, mainly driven by the automotive primer and wind turbine blade markets. For example, the high-temperature-resistant curing agent ZH150 produced by Yueyang Zhongzhan Technology can withstand temperatures up to 150℃, featuring excellent performance and has been applied in well-known automobile manufacturers.
- Anhydride-Based Curing Agents: Demand in the wind turbine blade and electronic packaging fields is surging. The market scale is expected to reach 1.5 billion yuan by 2030, with a CAGR of 12%.
- Bio-Based Curing Agents: Driven by sustainable development policies, the penetration rate of cashew phenol-based and other bio-based products will increase from 5% in 2024 to 15% in 2030, mainly used in green building coatings.
The Asia-Pacific region (especially China) contributes over 60% of the global incremental demand, while the European and American markets focus more on high-endization and environmental compliance. For instance, the demand for anhydride-based curing agents for wind turbine blades in China grows by 18% annually, while the European automotive coatings market tends to prefer water-based amine-based curing agents. Emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia, driven by accelerated industrialization, see an average annual growth of over 10% in epoxy coating demand, promoting the expansion of localized production capacity for amine-based curing agents.
- Baseline Scenario: Assuming a 5% annual growth rate of epoxy resin coatings and a 1:10 dosage ratio of curing agents to resins, the global demand for curing agents will increase from 550,000 tons in 2025 to 700,000 tons in 2030, with a CAGR of approximately 4.8%.
- Optimistic Scenario: If the demand for wind power and new energy vehicles exceeds expectations, coupled with the increased penetration of water-based curing agents, the CAGR could reach 5.5%, with demand hitting 750,000 tons by 2030.
- Pessimistic Scenario: If raw material price fluctuations or economic recession suppress investment, the CAGR may drop to 3.5%, with demand reaching around 650,000 tons by 2030.
- Raw Material Costs: Oversupply of bisphenol A may lead to low epoxy resin prices, stimulating coating demand but compressing profit margins; epichlorohydrin, affected by glycerol price fluctuations, may push up the cost of high-end curing agents.
- Technological Substitution: The risk of substitution by polyurethane and acrylic resins in some fields (e.g., automotive topcoats) should be watched, especially in price-sensitive markets.
- Overcapacity: The expansion of amine-based curing agent production capacity in China (e.g., Anhui Hengtai’s new 5,000-ton/year capacity) may intensify price competition.
Over the next five years, driven by environmental policies, emerging industries, and technological upgrading, epoxy resin coatings will maintain steady growth, with a synchronous increase in curing agent demand. Amine-based curing agents will remain dominant, but anhydride-based and bio-based products will present significant structural opportunities in specific fields. Enterprises need to pay attention to risks such as raw material price fluctuations, regional market differentiation, and technological substitution, and seize opportunities through differentiated product layouts (e.g., low-temperature curing and high-solid-content systems) and capacity optimization (e.g., localized production in Southeast Asia). It is expected that by 2030, the global demand for curing agents for epoxy coatings will reach 650,000–750,000 tons, with China accounting for over 40% and becoming the world’s largest market.
Yueyang Zhongzhan Technology specializes in the production of amine-based curing agents and epoxy accelerators (DMP-30/K54). For inquiries, please contact us via phone or email: 13975090964.