Alcoa Unveils Revolutionary Sustainable Solution for Commercial Buildings

　　NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE: AA) today launched Reynobond? with EcoClean?, the first coil-coated architectural panel that helps clean itself and the air around it. This game-changing product was created by merging breakthrough innovations in science and design from Alcoa and Japanese manufacturer TOTO?.

　　Reynobond with EcoClean is an economically viable self-cleaning technology that reduces maintenance costs and helps with the decomposition of smog and other pollutants, from dirt to diesel fumes, which cling to building surfaces. In fact, 10,000 square feet of Reynobond with EcoClean has the approximate air cleansing power of 80 trees.

　　“Alcoa is committed to innovating sustainable solutions for today and tomorrow,” said Craig Belnap, president, Alcoa Architectural Products. “That passion is a driving force behind our architectural business. Our R&D in science and technology is creating new ways for aluminum building products to meet green building standards—from the use of natural cleaning products like Reynobond with EcoClean, to advanced fa?ade solutions that help reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption.”

　　Alcoa scientists developed a proprietary process that leverages patented HYDROTECT? technology from TOTO to apply a titanium dioxide coating, called EcoClean, to the pre-painted aluminum surface of Reynobond. The result is an aluminum panel that, when combined with sunlight, acts as a catalyst to break down organic pollutants on its surface and in the air around it, like smog, into harmless matter which is then washed away by rainwater.

　　Last year, 80 billion square feet of commercial building space consumed roughly 20 percent of all energy in the U.S. economy.1 Thanks to strategic investments in R&D, Alcoa is fueling sustainable solutions and mitigating environmental challenges facing the building and construction industry by bringing Reynobond with EcoClean to market. This represents an important step forward in sustainable building design and will literally change the face – and fa?ade – of the industry.

　　Reynobond with EcoClean will debut at the AIA 2011 National Convention and Design Exposition on May 12 in New Orleans.