So... glow-in-the-dark cars are a thing now

The National Road Safety Partnership Program recently reported that Nissan Europe is now applying glow-in-the-dark car paint to it's 100% electric British-built LEAF vehicles. The company claims this is a world first, although glowing car paint and glow-in-the-dark car wraps have been available for some time.

According to Nissan, various third-party companies have applied non-organic, glow-in-the-dark paints to vehicles before, but this is a first for a manufacturer. The company worked with Hamish Scott, the creator of Starpath (a glowing spray-on coating for use on public pathways) to develop the paint. Nissan is keeping the formula a closely guarded secret, but does reveal that it is made up entirely of organic materials including a very rare natural earth product called strontium aluminate, which is solid, odourless and both chemically and biologically inert.

The paint absorbs UV energy during the day so that it glows after the sun goes down. It is not clear whether it will be made commercially available, but that seems unlikely due to the rarity of the ingredients. Nissan has suggested that the paint would have a life span of around 25 years, notably longer than the average vehicle turnaround. Never intended to be offered as an option, the paint was developed to showcase how the all-electric LEAF is helping more people convert to solar energy at home.

According to Nissan’s research, 89% of LEAF owners in the UK charge their cars at home overnight. While solar panels do not store energy or provide it outside of daylight, any leftover power generated during the day is fed back to the grid and home owners receive government payback, effectively charging their vehicles for free.

Sales of the LEAF have been reasonably sluggish in Australia, allegedly due to the relatively high price tag and slow local market acceptance of the technology, but reports last year on independent car review website caradvice.com.au indicated that Nissan Australia remains committed to the product - even if it is the non-glow-in-the-dark version