As a record heat wave drags on, the market for heat-reflective paints — coatings that lower the surface temperature of buildings and industrial facilities to cut cooling energy — is heating up. The paints are moving beyond simply protecting building exteriors to serve as energy-saving solutions that reduce electricity use and carbon emissions.
SP Chemical (000390.KS) has recently been expanding supply of Cool & Save, an energy-saving heat-reflective paint aimed at artificial intelligence data centers and large-scale plants, the paint industry said on the 26th. The product uses special pigments to reflect infrared radiation from sunlight and curb the rise in surface temperature. The company expects that applying the heat-reflective paint to a typical building can lower indoor temperatures by about 1 to 3 degrees, helping to save cooling energy.
Heat-reflective paint is a functional coating that reflects infrared radiation in sunlight and releases absorbed heat outward, curbing surface temperature rises in buildings and facilities. Industry attention is now shifting from simple temperature control to cutting energy costs at industrial sites. With the burden of industrial electricity rates growing, the paints can reduce power use by lowering summer cooling loads.
SP Chemical is targeting industrial facilities that require large amounts of power for cooling, air conditioning and equipment operation — such as data centers and large plants in petrochemicals and oil refining — as its main market. The company plans to expand its application range beyond the existing construction and industrial markets to include maintenance of aging industrial complexes, eco-friendly plants, public infrastructure and overseas plants.
The company has also secured certification to back the product's performance. Cool & Save has obtained certification from the U.S. Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC), and Cool & Save N recorded an initial solar reflectance of 0.84 and a solar reflectance index (SRI) of 105 in early testing. After three years, it maintained a reflectance of 0.83 and an SRI of 104, and was assessed as retaining its heat-reflective performance over the long term.
Interest is growing as the heat-reflective paint market expands from simple functional paint into a coating-based energy-saving solution. Indeed, KCC found that inquiries about heat-reflective paints received by its customer center and sales teams nationwide from this June through August 5 rose more than fivefold from a year earlier. Sales volumes are also rising. From 2023 through last year, sales of related coatings — including primer, intermediate and top coats — exceeded 700,000 liters, and the 2025 sales volume doubled from 2023. Sales through August 5 this year also rose more than 60% from a year earlier.
