MDPI proudly hosted the Coatings 2026: Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) Surface Treatment and Coatings conference in Athens, Greece, from 20 to 22 April 2026. The event brought together industry professionals in the field of surface finishing and was co-organised with Exelisis.

“The theme of the Coatings conference itself is very attractive […] it is good for broader audiences. I can feel its benefit for all different areas.” – Dr. Swarna Jaiswal, Event Committee member

This article covers everything you need to know about this conference.

Attendees of the poster session at the Coatings 2026 conference.

What is the purpose of Coatings 2026?

The Coatings conference brought together researchers, industry professionals, and experts from around the globe to share the latest advancements, exchange ideas, and foster collaborations in the field.

The surface finishing industry is facing growing challenges, including stricter environmental regulations and the need to adopt cleaner, more sustainable technologies. Joining forces across research, policy and supply chains will help the industry to produce coatings that meet tomorrow’s standards while protecting the planet.

The event programme was designed to offer an engaging platform for discussing cutting-edge research, emerging challenges and future directions in the field.

“This conference is very important for the field of Coatings. It has gathered a lot of people from around the world, and we will see new advancements in the field of Coatings.” – Prof. Dr. Luca Magagnin, Event Chair

Schedule overview

The conference hosted sessions on:

• Advances in metallic and metal matrix composite coatings
• Advances in organic and hybrid coatings
• Advances in methods and equipment
• Surface finishing for additive manufacturing
• Application of the SSbD framework on the surface finishing industry
• Advances in thermal spraying
• Thin film technologies and applications
• Anodizing of light alloys
• AI tools and simulations
• Phasing out substances of concern from the surface finishing industry

Speaker profiles

The sessions were hosted by 2 keynote and 7 invited speakers, including Dr. Emerson Coy, one of the Editors in Chief for the Coatings journal.

• Dr. Nick Birbilis – Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Australia
• Dr. Eugenia (Éva) Valsami-Jones – School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK
• Dr. Dimitrios Bikiaris – Labotory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Chemistry Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
• Dirk Drees – Falex Tribology, N.V., Belgium
• Magda Blosi – Institute of Science, Technology and Sustainability for Ceramics, National Research Council of Italy (ISSMC CNR) Faenza (Ra), Italy
• Emerson Coy – NanoBiomedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
• Dr. Andreas G. Boudouvis – Former Rector, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
• Dr. Sergi Dosta – University of Barcelona, Spain
• Dr. Maria Pia Pedeferri – Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” (CMIC), Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Prof. Dr. Emerson Coy, one of the Editors in Chief of the Coatings journal, speaking at the Coatings 2026 conference.

Participating in Coatings 2026

The conference was a great success, attracting almost 140 attendees from 25 different countries and receiving more than 140 submissions.

MDPI is pleased to have been able to present 5 awards for participants of Coatings 2026, sponsored by the journal Coatings, for best oral presentation, best poster, and early career researcher.

To find out more details about the conference, you can visit the homepage on Sciforum. Keep an eye on our conferences blog page to stay up to date with any future conferences that MDPI will be involved in.