Axalta Coating Systems was honoured with three Edison Awards during the progam's annual gala, held in Florida on April 16.
Axalta, a Philadelphia-based coatings supplier, received gold awards for its EcoNextJet vehicle colour application system and its Alesta e-PRO FG Black coating for electric vehicle batteries. Its TintMaster AI paint manufacturing platform also received a bronze award.
The Edison Awards, established in 1987 and named after inventor Thomas Edison, recognize new products and technologies across industries. Winners are selected through a peer-review process involving more than 3,000 business executives, academics and innovation professionals, with roughly 150 winners named globally this year.
“Receiving three Edison Awards in a single year reflects the extraordinary breadth and depth of Axalta’s innovation engine,” Robert Roop, senior vice-president and chief technology officer, said in a statement.
EcoNextJet is a drop-on-demand paint application system designed for OEM production lines. Axalta developed jettable coatings for the system and partnered with Dürr for robotics and automation and with Xaar for printhead technology. The system is designed to allow automakers to apply individualized exterior finishes at production scale.
Alesta e-PRO FG Black is a powder coating designed for electric vehicle battery systems. The coating is engineered to resist ignition, expansion and smoke generation at temperatures up to 1,200 C, helping delay fire propagation during thermal runaway events.
TintMaster AI is an internal platform that uses historical production data and neural networks to adjust paint formulations before production. Axalta reports the system can improve right-the-first-time performance by up to 29% in certain manufacturing scenarios.
“Each of these technologies addresses a critical inflection point in their use, whether that’s enabling OEMs to offer truly personalized vehicles at scale; supporting improved safety in electric vehicle batteries; or using the power of AI to solve the persistent challenge of colour variability in paint manufacturing," Roop added.
Other 2026 Edison Award winners with technologies relevant to the automotive and collision sector include Californian logistics provider Gatik, which recognized for its autonomous middle-mile delivery system, and the chemical giant DuPont, which was recognized for materials designed for high-heat and protective applications.
