Nissan Becomes First Carmaker to use UV Glow-in-the-Dark Paint

Nissan is known to come up with innovative solutions and reinvent itself. Last year, the Japanese carmaker tested the self-cleaning nanotech paint, dubbed the Ultra-Ever Dry that repels dirt on its Nissan Note prototype. This year the company has draped its Nissan Leaf EV in an unique UV-absorbing paint technology that helps the car to glow in the dark.

The paint finish, known as ‘Starpath’, was created by inventor Hamish Scott and is a spray-applied coating that absorbs UV energy from the sun throughout the day. This paint then glows distinctively for between eight and 10 hours when the sun goes down.

While glow-in-the-dark car wraps are already available in the market, the ultraviolet-energised paint used on the Nissan Leaf is unique. While creating Starpath, Scott has made use of a secret formula constituting all organic materials. This glow-in-the-dark paint makes use of a very rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odourless and chemically and biologically inert.

Nissan states that the paint scheme has been applied to showcase an increasing numbers of Leaf owners are charging their cars using solar energy. The carmaker hasn’t revealed whether it will become available to new buyers of the electric vehicle.