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20 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2021 of conformal coatings for automotive use. is is an increase from 85°C or 120°C on the last generation of products. is new high is really pushing the limits of availability from traditional coating chemistries, but happily for us, this is not a surprise as we have been preparing for this very moment over the last few years—applying ourselves to the generation of solutions and products that support the new requirements. Condensation resistance continues to grow in importance, increasing in prominence within many new customer specifications. Historically, conformal coatings have been predominantly applied to provide a barrier against the effects of humidity on the underlying circuit. is is not nearly as challenging a scenario as a condensing environment, where the presence of liquid water provides new tests, both to the thickness and coverage achievable. Liquid water will seek out any weak spots in the protection afforded and corrosion takes place The State of the Coating Industry Feature Article by Phil Kinner ELECTROLUBE 2020 was certainly an interesting year—one that most of us will choose to forget. e list of challenges was seemingly endless: plant shutdowns, project cancellations, component shortages, furloughs, working from home, Microso Teams, Brexit, and so forth. Fortu- nately, life continued largely unchanged for those of us on the R&D team at Electrolube and we were able to complete many of our lon- ger-term projects without the usual day-to-day interruptions. I would say, a win is a win! As a result of the tremendous progress her- alded by the vaccination programme, hope of a return to "normality" is high. However, what will normality look like as we move forward? Several trends have really stood out as the first half of 2021 comes to a close. First, 150°C appears to have become the "new normal" for the maximum required operating temperature