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5 Trends Shaping the European Adhesives & Bonding Market in 2025 

Smart manufacturing, digitalisation, lightweighting and sustainability are some of the megatrends driving new product development in adhesives, coatings, sealants and bonding technologies, enabling breakthroughs in product design, performance and product efficiency across sectors from packaging, furniture and consumer goods to construction, automotive and electronics. 

Here are five of the most important trends reshaping the adhesives landscape this year. 

1. Adhesives Tailored to Specific Applications and Processes 

Adhesives are increasingly tailored to specific applications and industry needs. Automated processes require adhesives with flow characteristics and stringing behavior compatible with high-speed manufacturing systems. The construction sector requires quick-setting adhesives and coatings that reduce downtime and labor costs. UV-curable, hot-melt and one-component systems are gaining popularity in flooring, tiling and window and door installations. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing a transformational role in engineering adhesives for their specific application. Machine learning models trained on performance data can predict adhesive behavior and optimize formulations for properties like strength, cure speed, flexibility and temperature resistance. 

Henkel, working with Citrine Informatics, has halved R&D time for EV battery adhesives. AI enables custom adhesives that match the specific stresses and conditions of a part’s life cycle. Audi uses AI modeling to analyze Body-in-White (BIW) joints and predict the fatigue behavior of bonded structures. This allows their suppliers to customize epoxy adhesives that strike the right balance between stiffness and flexibility – essential for bonding aluminum to carbon fiber. 

2. Smart Structural Adhesives and Functional Coatings in Construction 

In 2025, the construction industry is embracing adhesives not just as joiners, but as multifunctional enablers of smart, efficient buildings. Demand is growing for high-performance structural adhesives that replace mechanical fasteners in modular construction, prefabricated panels and composite assemblies that support lighter, faster and more flexible building methods. 

Development of adhesives in construction is connected with broader innovation in construction chemicals, also including coatings with self-healing, anti-microbial, moisture-resistant, energy-efficient and other advanced properties increasingly used in hospitals, schools and residential developments to extend building lifespan and reduce maintenance costs. 

3. Adhesives Enabling Lightweighting in Automotive and Aerospace 

Fuel efficiency targets in Europe are pushing automotive and aerospace manufacturers to adopt lightweight materials and rethink traditional assembly methods. Adhesives are critical in this transformation, replacing mechanical fasteners and enabling stronger, lighter joints in vehicles and aircraft. 

BMW utilizes structural adhesives in the i3 and i8 to bond carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) with aluminum. Airbus relies on epoxy-based structural adhesives in the A350 XWB’s composite fuselage. VW employs elastomeric adhesives for panels and roofs in the Golf and Passat series to improve NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) control. 

Traditional steel and mechanical fasteners add weight, not only from the bolts, screws and rivets, but also from reinforcements required around drilled holes and overlapping materials needed for secure fastening. Adhesives allow for cleaner joins without added material bulk, providing weight reduction through material elimination. 

Adhesives can provide stronger and more reliable bonds than traditional mechanical fasteners, which don’t play well with advanced lightweight materials like composites, magnesium alloys and thin-gauge aluminum. Adhesives spread load evenly, help avoid fiber discontinuity at joints, distribute stresses more equally and preserve the integrity of delicate materials. 

4. Adhesives Driving Miniaturisation in Microelectronics 

Miniaturisation is a defining trend in electronics. Adhesives are evolving rapidly to support this shift. As devices get smaller, thinner and more complex, adhesives must do more than just stick things together. They must bond delicate or dissimilar materials, manage heat dissipation, insulate or conduct electricity and dampen shock and vibration. 

DELO in 2024 introduced the DUALBOND EG4797 adhesive for ultra-fine structures with line widths under 100 µm, enabling rapid-curing, high-precision bonding in optical and semiconductor packaging. Henkel is developing thermally conductive adhesives and encapsulants to efficiently dissipate heat in dense microelectronic assemblies. 

The optic adhesives market is also projected to grow significantly, driven by demand for compact, high-performance optical components in networking and sensing applications. These adhesives ensure optical clarity and structural stability in compact devices, such as those used in high-speed fiber optic networks. 

5. Sustainability Adhesives Closing the Performance Gap 

Sustainability has long been a trend in the adhesives industry, but in 2025, the shift toward bio-based, water-based, and other eco-adhesives is accelerating—driven by stricter EU regulations and consumer preferences. Thanks to advances in biopolymer engineering and hybrid systems, sustainable adhesives have significantly improved in bond strength, heat resistance and durability. 

In non-structural applications like paper, packaging, textiles and wood products, bio-based adhesives are now competitive or even preferred for their environmental benefits. Sectors such as packaging, furniture, and construction have already widely adopted them. 

A new wave of switchable adhesives, which can toggle between bonding and non-bonding states in response to stimuli like heat, pH, or pressure, is supporting disassembly and recycling, which is especially valued in automotive and construction. 

However, sectors with high performance requirements like aerospace, automotive and electronics are still in transition. Performance gaps persist under extreme conditions and costs of eco-adhesives remain up to 30% higher than fossil-based options. However, those gaps are narrowing as innovation continues. 

Adhesives & Bonding Expo Europe 2025 will return to Stuttgart, Germany 11-13 November. Free-to-attend, alongside the continent's largest dedicated exhibition, the conference will dive into the above topics and more.