Decarbonizing Automotive Paint Shops – Precision Measurement Drives Sustainability
While the shift to electric vehicles dominates headlines, another critical area for reducing the automotive industry’s carbon footprint lies within vehicle fabrication—particularly paint shops. These facilities are major consumers of energy, water, and solvents, making them a focal point for sustainability efforts.
Paint Shops: Hotspots of Energy, Water, and Material Use
Paint shops are major contributors to a factory’s environmental footprint, accounting for roughly 65% of CO₂ emissions and consuming the largest share of energy, water, and solvents in vehicle manufacturing.
OEMs are responding with ambitious targets. Stellantis reports a 27% reduction in energy use since 2021, aiming for 50% by 2025 through measures like the 4WET painting process, which cut 25% of CO₂ per vehicle at the Vigo plant. SEAT has achieved 70% lower emissions, 55% less water usage, 78% less waste, and 45% fewer solvent emissions since 2010. Other manufacturers are pursuing similar strategies: Toyota targets zero emissions by 2050, BMW has reduced CO₂ per vehicle by over 70% since 2006, Mercedes-Benz plans a 75% factory emission cut by 2024, and Volkswagen’s Navarra plant has implemented 400+ efficiency measures, cutting per-vehicle impact by over 40%.
These initiatives show that decarbonizing paint operations is a global priority across leading OEMs.
Terahertz-Based, Contactless Paint Thickness Measurement
In the race toward smarter, more sustainable automotive manufacturing, non-contact multilayer inspection has emerged as a critical capability. OEMs are increasingly turning to terahertz technology to ensure paint quality, reduce material waste, and support high-throughput production. These systems use terahertz electromagnetic waves to penetrate multilayer coatings, providing micron-level measurement of each layer – including e-coat, primer, base, and clear coat – without physical contact.
Terahertz-based systems offer several advantages:
High Precision: Measures multilayer coatings with micrometer-level accuracy (±1 μm repeatability)
Real-Time, Inline Operation: Enables instant adjustments during production
Non-Invasive and Automated: Compatible with robotic integration and high-throughput lines
Supports Energy and Material Savings: Reduces over-application of paint and prevents reworks
By allowing automakers to monitor every coating layer in real time, terahertz-based systems help ensure consistent quality while minimizing material waste, energy consumption, and associated CO₂ emissions.
das‑Nano Gaining Industry Traction
Leading OEMs are increasingly selecting das‑Nano, which now powers 85 % of thickness measurement installations worldwide, according to the company, to support their digital transformation efforts in paint shops and surface inspection. The company’s systems offer several key advantages:
Fast Deployment and Intuitive Operation: Time-to-value is essential for plant managers and engineers. das‑Nano’s systems are noted for ease of use and minimal training requirements, allowing operators to integrate the technology quickly into existing workflows. In contrast, some competitors require ongoing technical support or retraining, slowing adoption and increasing total cost of ownership.
Superior Precision for Multilayer Paint Measurement: Micron-level precision is non-negotiable in modern paint shops. das‑Nano delivers real-time measurement of every layer, non-destructively, with ±1 μm repeatability. OEMs report that this consistency is a decisive factor, especially when compared with systems that struggle with accuracy or drift in high-volume environments.
Robotic Integration and Long-Term Stability: Sensor positioning is critical for consistent inline inspection. das‑Nano systems are designed for industrial robot integration, ensuring repeatable measurements with no mechanical drift over time. Unlike vision-based or servo-mounted alternatives, das‑Nano uses triangulation-based positioning, providing:
- Greater precision on complex geometries
- Consistent performance regardless of lighting or surface conditions
- Robust operation in high-speed production environments
Automotive Industry Applications
OEMs are leveraging precision measurement to decarbonize paint operations. Stellantis’ 4WET painting architecture, for example, reduces the number of curing ovens and eliminates redundant bake cycles, achieving up to 30% energy savings per vehicle. SEAT has demonstrated that systemic measures such as water recycling and solvent reduction can lower high-impact operations by more than half.
At Volkswagen Navarra, das‑Nano’s terahertz-based system has been operational 24/7 since 2020. The plant reports 50 kWh saved per vehicle, totaling over 16 GWh annually and avoiding more than 7,000 tons of CO₂ emissions each year. These results illustrate how precision measurement can directly link production quality with sustainability outcomes.
Transitioning to Greener Manufacturing
Paint shops represent a critical focus in the automotive industry’s drive toward decarbonization. Innovations such as 4WET processes, solvent reuse, and water reduction are important, but advanced terahertz-based, contactless measurement systems are proving essential for aligning sustainability with production efficiency.
By providing real-time, multilayer inspection, these systems reduce material use, minimize waste, ensure reliable coating quality, and deliver substantial energy savings. With das‑Nano powering the majority of thickness measurement installations worldwide, precision measurement is increasingly a foundational tool in the transition to greener manufacturing.
For more information: www.das-nano.com
