Blue bleachers glisten in the heat of Houston's sun, protected by a layer of cooling paint developed by Sun Devils, aiming to reduce the surface's temperature for soccer fans.
This cooling technology was created by ASU graduates Aashay Arora and Matthew Aguayo, who now get to see their patented product in effect on a global stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The two connected in 2013 through their research at ASU, with their collaboration over the years leading them to start a company together.
The Sun Devils launched EnKoat in 2018, using their knowledge as material scientists to develop IntelliKoat, a dual-layer thermal weather barrier. They filed a patent on the technology that same year.
EnKoat's vision is to set a global standard for durable building surfaces and energy structures, doing so by creating coating systems that cut energy use and aim to extend a roof's lifespan by protecting against extreme weather.
A day before defending their PhD theses, Arora and Aguayo went to ASU's Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Building II to brainstorm a company name, trying to find a combination that best suited the brand.
"We wrote down all the different things that you would describe this company by," Arora said. "The things which kept coming (up) was it's a coating and it's energy efficient."
Arora and Aguayo, who were pursuing PhDs in Structures and Materials Engineering, deferred their studies by six months to convert their research into a tangible result.
During this process, they learned it's one thing to do the research for a project, but it's another to take that research and create a successful business that customers want to engage with.
Guiding these Sun Devil scientists was ASU's Fulton Professor of Structural Materials Narayanan Neithalath. Neithalath, who had worked alongside the two for years, encouraged them to take a chance on their project, as they had the science to back it up.
Eventually, Arora and Aguayo developed their research into a brand ready to face an "accelerator incubator" where they pitched their product to the FIFA Sustainability Committee of Houston, who were looking for efficient solutions in their innovation corridor and fan park. The ASU alums provided them with sample materials and proposals for the paint.
The FIFA committee later returned to EnKoat, curious if their fan park bleachers would be a good fit — and they were.
The paint, though originally designed with roof surfaces in mind, can reduce any surface by 20 to 30 degrees and now expands its reasons for usage, serving as an efficient way to improve the environment for fans in Houston.
For these World Cup fans, the two have created a more comfortable experience, and as guests interact with the bleachers, it allows them to advertise their paint on a larger scale.
"It's a good thing for them to have gotten this exposure with the World Cup with these bleachers," Neithalath said. "They were able to do a small section to show that this works, and actually, the experiment showed that their approach did work and did reduce the temperature significantly."
READ MORE: LIVE UPDATES: How Arizona soccer fans can get involved with World Cup
With the cooling paint providing an effective and simple solution to a worldwide heat problem, it now sparks an idea for how the alumni could make a use case to cool down the Mountain America Stadium.
Growing up in Arizona and surrounded by Sun Devil relatives, Aguayo and family "live and breathe ASU," and the chance to have this work on display at the stadium would mean a lot.
"It would be extremely impactful because that stadium means a lot to me and my family in terms of watching the games (and) making memories," Aguayo said. "I think growing up in Arizona, we understand the heat and we understand how we need solutions."
As an ASU-grown company, Neithalath has advocated for the school to implement the technology and expressed confidence and pride in its results.
"If you see this and you see that it's our own technology that is being used in our facilities, it's a matter of pride for every student and every staff," Neithalath said. "We are capable of developing these solutions that the world needs, and that has come from our lab."
Edited by Mia Sweador, Natalia Jarrett and Claire Bixby
Reach the reporter at cjoneil6@asu.edu and follow @cjojournalism on X.
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Char O’Neil is a junior studying sports journalism with a minor in special events management. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also reported for AZPreps365, Blaze Radio and Phoenix College Basketball.
