AkzoNobel Coil & Extrusion Coatings is introducing the industry’s first consultancy-led not-for-profit partnership dedicated to making energy curing a viable, scalable reality for coil coaters and integrated steel manufacturers, globally. This initiative – called IONOMY – unites experts in technology and solutions, including materials, curing, systems integration, software and hardware.

The IONOMY ecosystem includes the following partners:

•           AkzoNobel Coil & Extrusion Coatings – initiator of IONOMY and a global leader in coil coatings solutions

•           PCT Ebeam and Integration - the leading supplier of innovative and reliable ebeam systems for coil lines

•           IST METZ GmbH & Co. KG - a leader in UV and LED curing systems

•           Globus srl - a reference in coating systems and machines engineering for coil

•           NOVACEL SA - a global leader in processing and protective films for innovative materials.

While energy-curable products are available for coil coating, AkzoNobel attributes slow adoption to the complexity of transition, with many businesses unsure how to adapt their operations in order to seize the renewable energy-curing opportunity.

“It isn’t just about making a tweak to the process,” explains Sebastien Villeneuve, Transformation Manager, Coil Coatings, AkzoNobel Coil & Extrusion Coatings. “Energy-curing is a complete reimagining and transformation of how coating lines are designed, operated, and optimized. We see the enormity of the challenge through our customers’ eyes, and this is why we have created the IONOMY ecosystem.”

The name IONOMY is derived from ‘ionization’ and ‘economy’. Ionization refers to the critical role energy plays in triggering the cold curing process – a cornerstone of the renewable energy curing technology. Economy reflects the significant business benefits of energy curing: lowering energy costs, faster throughput, improved sustainability*, and long-term profitability. 

IONOMY is a cross-functional partnership that supports every stage of the energy curing journey – from diagnostics and road mapping to line redesign and long-term optimization. It is designed to give businesses the tools, expertise, and confidence to adopt energy curing that unlock measurable efficiency and performance gains, while reducing exposure to energy costs volatility and tightening sustainability regulations.

Built on deep experience across adjacent sectors like automotive, wood, and packaging (where energy curing is already well established), AkzoNobel brings these learnings into the complex, high-throughput world of coil coating.

With the IONOMY ecosystem there will be no prescribed architecture or predefined solutions. Whether a customer is a coil coater, steel producer, or new entrant, the IONOMY ecosystem will help shape a path based on their unique needs, constraints and goals to give them access to operationally feasible, and commercially smart transformation that fits each business.

Chris Bradford, Market Director, Coil & Packaging Coatings, AkzoNobel says that the creation of IONOMY stems from AkzoNobel’s core values: “We’ve been guided by the values of collaboration, innovation, and sustainability to step forward and help our customers unlock change. No one company can deliver this kind of transformation alone, which is why the IONOMY ecosystem is built on collaboration to guide the industry into its next chapter.

“Our aim is to help coil coaters embrace the more efficient and sustainable future that’s within reach,” explains Chris. “Together, we’ll make renewable energy curing not just possible, but practical and profitable for all coil coaters and steel processors who will be free to adapt, innovate and compete on a new level.

“This challenge requires new thinking. It requires us to have the courage to break from old models and seize the energy-curing opportunity. IONOMY is exactly that,” says Chris.

Backed by AkzoNobel’s global network and science-based carbon reduction targets, the launch of the IONOMY ecosystem represents a bold commitment: to help the entire value chain with the challenges of decarbonization, modernization, and resilient growth.

*See Welcome to the IONOMY ecosystem for details on how the IONOMY ecosystem can support reduced energy consumption and waste through renewable electricity use and material efficiency compared to traditional curing methods.