Air Tech Italy is pleased to welcome Steikos as its newest member. While airports invest heavily in reducing emissions from aircraft, vehicles and ground operations, an often-overlooked opportunity lies in the infrastructure itself. What if runways, roads, parking areas and airport surfaces could actively contribute to reducing pollution?
Through advanced photocatalytic technologies, Steikos is helping turn this vision into reality. The company’s innovative surface treatments enable airport infrastructure to play an active role in improving air quality and supporting sustainability objectives, making it a unique addition to the Air Tech Italy network.
We spoke with Daniele Grosso, Managing Director of Steikos, about the company’s technology, recent airport projects and the growing role of environmental innovation in aviation.
Can you introduce yourself, your role and your company?
Daniele: “My name is Daniele Grosso, I am 53 years old, based in Cuneo, and I serve as Managing Director of Steikos.
The name Steikos originates from the combination of two Ancient Greek words: Stego, meaning “to protect”, and Eikos, meaning “natural”. Together they perfectly reflect our mission: improving people’s quality of life through better air quality.
Our objective is to make the most innovative nanotechnologies and high-quality solutions accessible to the widest possible audience. Through continuous innovation, we develop products that actively contribute to creating cleaner, healthier and more sustainable environments.”
How does Steikos support airports through its products and services? What differentiates you from competitors?
Daniele: “Steikos develops and markets photocatalytic products based on nanomaterials in water solution. Our technologies have been tested and certified by some of Italy’s leading universities.
Once applied, these products transform both indoor and outdoor surfaces by providing them with anti-pollution, antibacterial, odour-reducing and self-cleaning properties.
Particularly relevant for airports is our FOSWAY product range. When applied to concrete or asphalt surfaces such as airport aprons, roadways, parking areas and runways, FOSWAY is capable of reducing and oxidising pollutants that negatively affect air quality when exposed to UVA radiation.
The treatment process is simple and efficient. Surfaces are first cleaned using standard road-cleaning equipment before the product is applied through low-pressure spraying. The solution is supplied ready to use, requires only a single application and becomes touch-dry after approximately 20 minutes under normal environmental conditions. Importantly, it adheres to the pavement without altering its grip characteristics or drainage performance.
What differentiates Steikos is that our products do not merely reduce environmental impact during production; they actively contribute to reducing pollution throughout their operational lifetime.“
What are the key trends you see in your sector?
Daniele: “We see a growing interest from public authorities and infrastructure operators in solutions that go beyond traditional sustainability requirements.
Today, customers increasingly seek products that not only comply with environmental regulations and reduce emissions during production, but also play an active role in reducing pollution once deployed.
This trend is particularly visible in outdoor environments, where air quality improvement is becoming an important objective, but also indoors, where there is growing attention on reducing viral and bacterial loads in public spaces.
As sustainability targets become more ambitious, we expect demand for active environmental technologies to continue growing across airports and other critical infrastructure sectors.”
Can you share some recent successes in the airport sector?
Daniele: “One of our most significant recent projects was the treatment of approximately 57,000 square metres of airport pavement at Cagliari Elmas Airport, where a combination of concrete and asphalt surfaces was treated using our FOSWAY FWYA 1711 solution.
Beyond aviation, our technology has also been applied to several kilometres of road infrastructure managed by ANAS and Autostrade per l’Italia, as well as numerous parking facilities operated by private organisations.
These projects demonstrate the scalability and effectiveness of our solutions in improving environmental performance across a wide range of transport infrastructures.“
Looking Ahead
Daniele: “As airports worldwide continue to focus on sustainability, operational performance and environmental responsibility, innovative technologies that actively improve air quality are becoming increasingly relevant.
With its expertise in photocatalytic nanotechnology and environmental surface treatments, Steikos brings a unique and complementary capability to the Air Tech Italy network.
Many thanks Daniele for your valuable time!
We are delighted to welcome Steikos to Air Tech Italy and look forward to supporting its growth within the global aviation industry.