The present study investigates the initial corrosion behaviour of HVAF-sprayed NiCr, NiAl and NiCrAlY coatings in two different environments, O 2 + H 2 O and O 2 + H 2 O + KCl at 600 °C for up to 168 h in order to evaluate the possibility of utilizing such coatings in biomass- and waste-fired boilers. SEM/EDX analysis showed that all coatings displayed a protective behaviour in O 2 + H 2 O. Upon addition of KCl (O 2 + H 2 O + KCl), the corrosion behaviour of the NiCr coating drastically changed as it formed a thick oxide layer and displayed major chlorine diffusion down to the substrate. The NiCrAlY coating displayed a significantly better corrosion resistance with only minor oxide formation. The NiAl coating exhibited a protective behaviour similar to when exposed in the absence of KCl indicating that a thin protective oxide has formed on the coating surface. The performance of the NiAl and NiCrAlY coatings is promising for future studies with long-term exposures in more corrosive environments such as in a biomass- and waste-fired boiler. © 2019, The Author(s).