The Future of AI for Adhesives and Sealants: ECS and ASC 2025 Key Takeaways
In 2025, the NobleAI team and I had the pleasure of attending the European Coatings Show (ECS), hosted in Nuremberg, Germany and the Adhesives and Sealants Council (ASC) Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. The spirit of the conferences were optimistic, with lots of buzz about the potential for artificial intelligence to revolutionize the specialty chemicals, paints and coatings, and adhesives industries from the inside out.
Here are the top 5 takeaways from our conversations with industry leaders and pioneers:
1. Circularity and the Challenge of Recycling
Sustainability took center stage, with particular focus on circular design and the recyclability of bonded materials. These developments are seen as key to enabling truly circular product lifecycles in packaging, consumer goods, and beyond.
2. Sustainability Initiatives
The focus on low-VOC and bio-based adhesives aligns with 2025 regulatory pressures (e.g., REACH, EPA) and the EU’s Green Deal, which will push for net-zero alignment in chemical manufacturing.
3. Tariff and Sourcing Challenges
Tariffs were a major topic of discussion across the industry, as they disrupted supply chains and drove up costs. To adapt, companies are turning to AI tools to quickly replace heavily impacted ingredients, using predictive models that confidently forecast the performance of alternative materials.
4. EV Innovation Driving Material Demands
As EV adoption accelerates, the need for lightweight, thermally conductive, and durable adhesive solutions has never been greater. There is a buzz around how adhesive technologies are being tailored to meet the unique challenges of EV batteries, safety standards, and structural components.
5. Advanced Materials for Next-Gen Applications
Breakthroughs in high-performance adhesive materials are needed to meet the demands of aerospace, electronics, construction, and renewable energy sectors. With industries pushing for faster, stronger, and more resilient solutions, the role of adhesives as enablers of innovation was clear.
Conclusions:
We had many other conversations about how AI can be leveraged for the benefit of the adhesives and sealants industries. In today’s uncertain markets, people are looking for anything that will give their business an edge to cut costs, improve safety, and maximize efficiency. In that vein, show-goers were excited to hear about how NobleAI’s innovative tools are transforming formulation development, optimizing supply chains, and accelerating sustainability efforts. Overall, the conference highlighted a growing enthusiasm for AI-driven solutions and reinforced NobleAI’s growing role in helping the industry navigate complexity with greater intelligence and impact.
In 2025, the NobleAI team and I had the pleasure of attending the European Coatings Show (ECS), hosted in Nuremberg, Germany and the Adhesives and Sealants Council (ASC) Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. The spirit of the conferences were optimistic, with lots of buzz about the potential for artificial intelligence to revolutionize the specialty chemicals, paints and coatings, and adhesives industries from the inside out.
Here are the top 5 takeaways from our conversations with industry leaders and pioneers:
1. Circularity and the Challenge of Recycling
Sustainability took center stage, with particular focus on circular design and the recyclability of bonded materials. These developments are seen as key to enabling truly circular product lifecycles in packaging, consumer goods, and beyond.
2. Sustainability Initiatives
The focus on low-VOC and bio-based adhesives aligns with 2025 regulatory pressures (e.g., REACH, EPA) and the EU’s Green Deal, which will push for net-zero alignment in chemical manufacturing.
3. Tariff and Sourcing Challenges
Tariffs were a major topic of discussion across the industry, as they disrupted supply chains and drove up costs. To adapt, companies are turning to AI tools to quickly replace heavily impacted ingredients, using predictive models that confidently forecast the performance of alternative materials.
4. EV Innovation Driving Material Demands
As EV adoption accelerates, the need for lightweight, thermally conductive, and durable adhesive solutions has never been greater. There is a buzz around how adhesive technologies are being tailored to meet the unique challenges of EV batteries, safety standards, and structural components.
5. Advanced Materials for Next-Gen Applications
Breakthroughs in high-performance adhesive materials are needed to meet the demands of aerospace, electronics, construction, and renewable energy sectors. With industries pushing for faster, stronger, and more resilient solutions, the role of adhesives as enablers of innovation was clear.
Conclusions:
We had many other conversations about how AI can be leveraged for the benefit of the adhesives and sealants industries. In today’s uncertain markets, people are looking for anything that will give their business an edge to cut costs, improve safety, and maximize efficiency. In that vein, show-goers were excited to hear about how NobleAI’s innovative tools are transforming formulation development, optimizing supply chains, and accelerating sustainability efforts. Overall, the conference highlighted a growing enthusiasm for AI-driven solutions and reinforced NobleAI’s growing role in helping the industry navigate complexity with greater intelligence and impact.
