PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 6, 2026--
PPG (NYSE:PPG) today announced that it has received a 2026 Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute. PPG was recognized in the Design of Safer Chemicals category for PPG SIGMAGLIDE® 2390 coating, a biocide-free, silicone-based fouling release technology that helps vessel owners and operators improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and avoid the release of antifoulants into marine environments.
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The ACS Green Chemistry Challenge Awards recognize technologies that advance sustainability through innovative chemistry and deliver environmental, economic and performance benefits.
“This recognition from ACS underscores the role innovative solutions can play in addressing complex sustainability challenges,” said David Bem, PPG senior vice president, science and technology, and chief technology officer. “With PPG Sigmaglide 2390 coating, our scientists took a fundamentally different approach to marine fouling control, designing a solution that eliminates the need for biocides while delivering significant performance benefits. The coating is also suitable for electrostatic application, a method PPG introduced to the marine industry that helps reduce overspray and waste during dry dock applications. This award recognizes how material design can help address environmental challenges at their source."
Marine biofouling on vessel hulls increases hydrodynamic drag, resulting in higher fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
PPG Sigmaglide 2390 coating incorporates PPG HYDRORESET™ technology, which senses the presence of water and reorganizes the coating surface at the nanoscale to create an ultrasmooth, ultra low-friction interface. Marine organisms do not recognize the surface as a suitable substrate for permanent attachment and are more readily released during vessel movement.
Third party evidence following ISO 19030 and the International Towing Tank Conference standards demonstrates that the coating can provide potential power savings of up to 20% and potential reductions in CO 2 emissions of up to 35%, with actual performance depending on vessel type and operating conditions.
“The marine industry is increasingly focused on solutions that improve operational efficiency while reducing environmental impact,” said Amy Ericson, PPG senior vice president, Protective and Marine Coatings. "PPG Sigmaglide 2390 coating demonstrates that ship owners and operators do not have to choose between sustainability and performance. By helping reduce drag without relying on antifoulants, the technology delivers meaningful value for our customers while helping protect the marine environments in which they operate.”
The award reflects PPG's commitment to developing innovative, sustainably advantaged solutions that solve customers’ biggest challenges. Through technologies such as the PPG Sigmaglide 2390 coating, PPG combines high performance with responsible chemistry to help customers improve operational efficiency, reduce environmental impacts, and advance their decarbonization goals.
PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD®
At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty products that our customers have trusted for more than 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 50 countries and reported net sales of $15.9 billion in 2025. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.
The PPG Logo and We protect and beautify the world are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.
HydroReset is a trademark and Sigmaglide is a registered trademark of PPG Coatings Nederland B.V.
Applicators electrostatically apply PPG SIGMAGLIDE® 2390 marine coating to a vessel hull. The biocide-free fouling release technology helps improve vessel efficiency and reduce emissions.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Hamas militant group said Monday it had dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a technical committee backed by the United Nations as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.
Hamas did not say whether it planned to take the crucial step of disarming or handing over security to an international force, but described its decision as evidence of its commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction after years of war.
It was unclear if the move, announced by a lower-level official, would lead to any meaningful change on the ground.
The Board of Peace, the new entity led by President Donald Trump with the mandate of governing and rebuilding Gaza, said it was aware of the Hamas announcement but would assess the impact based on “actions, not promises.” The board stressed in a statement on X that the technocratic committee must control all weapons in Gaza, as laid out in the ceasefire agreement.
At a news conference Monday, Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run Government Media Office, said “only technical and professional staff” would remain in their positions to run the Palestinian enclave’s day-to-day affairs.
“All employees working in service provision are ‘state employees’ and are fully prepared to work under the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza,” al-Thawabta said during a news conference in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem called it “a positive step forward on the path to implement the ceasefire deal.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the move, saying it was designed to avoid disarmament. “As long as Hamas retains its weapons, any civilian government will of course operate as Hamas dictates,” he wrote on X.
The committee of technocrats, which is based in Cairo, is chaired by Ali Shaath, a Gaza-born engineer and former official with the Palestinian Authority. It has a mandate to restore essential services and oversee civilian affairs under the supervision of the U.N. and the Board of Peace.
In a statement on X, Shaath acknowledged the Hamas announcement Monday and said that in order for the committee to function effectively, there must be “a single governing authority operating under one legal framework” and “a unified security apparatus accountable to that authority.”
Nine months after the ceasefire was signed, negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain largely deadlocked over the implementation of its second phase, including the disarmament of Hamas and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Hamas has insisted on implementing the first phase before moving to discuss its weapons.
The Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 73,098 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.
Israeli strikes have lessened considerably since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, but they continue almost daily. Israel’s military says it targets Hamas and other militants, often asserting they were planning attacks. The strikes have also killed many civilians.
On Monday, Israeli strikes killed at least five people in Gaza, including three in Khan Younis in the south and two in an apartment in Gaza City, health officials said.
The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas operative in the Gaza City strike and a militant from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group in the attacks in Khan Younis.
Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed.
Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
Palestinians look at a destroyed car following an Israeli military strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026, that, according to hospital officials, killed at least one person. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)
Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run government media office, center right, speaks during a press conference at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Ismail al-Thawabta, general director of the Hamas-run government media office, speaks during a press conference at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
