In partnership with inventor Hamish Scott, Nissan worked on developing an all-organic glow-in-the-dark car paint. The new product is being used on the Nissan LEAF to promote the idea of using solar energy to power the zero-emissions electric car. Recently, Nissan conjured “Tron” when taking LEAF on the world’s first glowing motorway, which is also designed for energy efficiency.
Holland’s Smart Highway saves energy by diminishing the need for street lights. Its glowing lines absorb light during the day and glow for 8 hours at night, not only providing good visibility for evening drivers, but also a unique visual experience. In the video below, you can see how the LEAF’s unique glowing exterior is complemented by the motorway’s photo-luminescent lines.
LEAF’s new spray-on paint, which contains an organic rare earth metal called Strontium Aluminate, also collects light during the day and glows for up to 8-10 hours at night. Nissan hasn’t said whether or not it will make the paint available to the public, but if they do shoppers can expect its glow-in-the-dark powers to work for a whopping 25 years.
The LEAF already runs for pennies per mile, but many of its owners are going one step further to maximize its eco-friendliness. By purchasing solar panels and powering LEAFs with the electricity they produce, rather than traditional energy which is often produced from fossil fuels, new and current LEAF owners can reduce their carbon footprints and potentially save big on their home energy bills, too.