ARNHEM, The Netherlands - Akzo Nobel announced the introduction of a waterborne exterior wood coating billed as a "pioneering" advance in coatings technology due to a solids content of approximately 65% and "nearly zero" VOC content. The product, named Tinova VX, is said to offer VOC content "well below the stringent new VOC regulations introduced by the European Union," the company said.

Akzo Nobel said Tinova VX is based on a small-molecule chemistry that allows the coating to penetrate into wood and improve waterproofing properties.

The product was developed at the R&D laboratories of Akzo Nobel's Decorative Coatings Europe business in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden. Tinova VX recently won the Akzo Nobel Coatings Innovation Award, and is currently available only in the Nordic countries, with plans under way to launch the product in several other European markets during the next few years, the company said.