“When you can’t see what you’re breathing, you need technology that makes the invisible visible,” says Steve Levine, President and CEO of AtmosAir. His company’s air purification systems are now installed in over 12,000 buildings worldwide, from the Empire State Building to Norwegian Cruise Lines, addressing what has become a critical concern for real estate owners: “Indoor air quality is very important and top of mind. Our technology helps people breathe cleaner, healthier air and save energy while supporting the decarbonization process that real estate companies currently prioritize.”
As health concerns, sustainability goals, and tenant satisfaction increasingly drive real estate decisions, AtmosAir has positioned itself at the intersection of these priorities with a technology that traces its origins to one of history’s greatest scientists.
Einstein’s Influence on Modern Air Purification
AtmosAir’s journey began with Albert Einstein’s sister, who contracted tuberculosis and was advised to recover in the Alps, breathing the clean mountain air. This prompted Einstein to investigate why mountain air was superior to that at lower elevations.
“He found out there was a natural conductivity in the air, and that conductivity was caused by ions,” Levine explains. Einstein’s colleague Conrad Habbage developed an ion generator to replicate the air quality found at high altitudes, technology that was eventually passed down to his son and later acquired by AtmosAir.
The company brought this technology to the United States and subjected it to rigorous testing at Harvard and other universities. The results confirmed its effectiveness at removing particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors, and various pathogens from indoor air.
The technology, officially called “dielectric barrier discharge bipolar ionization,” works by infusing negative and positive ions into indoor environments. “At the end of the day, it helps remove all the things we shouldn’t be breathing,” Levine summarizes.
From Security Expert to Clean Air Advocate
Levine’s path to becoming a leader in indoor air quality began after a successful 20-year career in the security alarm business. “It was all about creating safer places, saving lives, protecting property,” he explains. After selling that business, he faced a pivotal question: “What do I do next?”
“Between water, air, or energy, those were the choices. I decided on air and trying to create cleaner air environments,” Levine recalls. “It was really early on, nobody was concerned about air quality back in 2004-2005.”
The company began as an air testing business, offering comprehensive assessments of indoor environments. However, Levine quickly realized that identifying problems without offering solutions wasn’t enough: “If you didn’t have the answer to make the air quality better, people were skeptical of testing their air quality for what you might find.”
This realization led to his search for effective air purification technologies and the eventual discovery of the bipolar ionization system.
Strategic Growth: From Sports to Global Adoption
AtmosAir’s market entry strategy was deliberate and effective. “We figured if we could make a difference in sports, putting our technology into professional sports facilities and showing the head trainers how it would make a meaningful impact to the players’ health,” Levine explains.
This approach created a natural progression: “If we could take care of all the professional teams, then the colleges would come next, then the schools, and then eventually the consumer.”
From these beginnings, AtmosAir expanded into commercial buildings, hospitality, casinos, healthcare, and numerous other sectors. The technology is typically installed into a building’s HVAC system, either in the unit itself or in the supply duct, allowing for efficient distribution throughout indoor spaces.
What began as a U.S.-focused business has now gone global, with offices in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the UAE. “Clean air is a big topic of conversation everywhere,” Levine notes.
The Dual Benefit: Health and Energy Efficiency
For major real estate firms like CBRE, JLL, and Cushman & Wakefield, investing in air quality technology has become a strategic priority that delivers two key benefits.
First, it creates healthier environments that attract and retain tenants. “Twenty-five percent of all people have allergies and asthma,” Levine points out. “We’re creating a better environment for them to work in, which improves productivity and reduces absenteeism.”
Second, the technology offers significant sustainability advantages. “When you create this healthy building and you’re able to recycle cleaner air, you can actually reduce the amount of outside air you bring in that you might have to heat or cool,” Levine explains. “This reduces your energy costs while improving the air quality.”
The Empire State Building exemplifies this approach. “Empire State Realty Development basically said, ‘We want to have this technology in all of our buildings across our portfolio,’” Levine shares. “Anyone that is a tenant should know that our goals and our mission is to have the best filter, the right amount of air changes, and an AtmosAir system as part of their lease.”
Making the Invisible Visible: The Rise of Air Quality Monitoring
A major trend in the industry is the visualization of air quality data. “How do we turn the invisible visible?” Levine asks. “We can’t see what’s in the air that we’re breathing.”
The solution lies in comprehensive sensor networks that measure multiple aspects of air quality in real time. “These sensors can measure up to 10-11 different elements of air quality, from particulate matter to VOCs, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and humidity levels,” Levine explains.
These measurements are then displayed on dashboards in building lobbies and reception areas, creating a powerful visual demonstration of a building’s air quality compared to outdoor conditions.
This capability has become particularly valuable during environmental crises like wildfires. “When you scrub the air, you’re left with much better air quality inside than outside,” Levine notes. “Being able to show that to your tenants and employees coming into your building is very powerful.”
Environmental Challenges Driving Adoption
The increasing frequency of environmental events like wildfires and floods has created greater awareness of air quality issues. “You see it on every newscast when the air quality gets bad,” Levine observes. “Mold from storms and floods is another big indoor air quality issue.”
While AtmosAir can’t address outdoor air pollution directly, the company focuses on creating healthier indoor environments. “Every building by code has to bring in outside air,” Levine explains. “We’re all not in the mountains breathing that good clean air. So what are we bringing in from these cities?”
By improving indoor air quality and enabling the recirculation of cleaner air, AtmosAir’s technology supports broader sustainability goals. “We really want to focus on ESG and sustainability initiatives as part of what we do,” Levine emphasizes.
The Future: New Frontiers and Validation
Looking ahead, Levine sees significant growth opportunities in new sectors, particularly cruise ships and hospitality. “We’ve already started implementing on Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival, and Virgin,” he shares.
In the hospitality industry, companies like Hilton are “trying to drive customer satisfaction levels to the next level,” Levine explains. “If you can create a better night’s sleep and a better stay with great sustainability inside their environment… we’re hoping that we can be a brand standard one day.”
As the company continues to expand, Levine emphasizes the importance of validation and monitoring. “When we install one of our systems, we put sensors alongside it, so people have validation that it’s making a difference every day.”
For Levine, this commitment to measurable results is central to AtmosAir’s mission and his personal legacy. “When people think about air quality and how to make indoor air quality better, I think AtmosAir is doing that every day.”