Nissan Debuts Glow-in-the-Dark LEAF in Europe

Nissan in Europe has become the first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to promote its all-electric LEAF, and to encourage more people to convert to solar energy at home. The manufacturer worked with inventor Hamish Scott, creator of STARPATH, which is a spray-applied coating that absorbs UV energy during the day so that it glows for between eight and 10 hours when the sun goes down.

While glowing car paint is already available, as are glow-in-the-dark car wraps, the bespoke, ultraviolet-energized paint created especially for Nissan is unique thanks to its secret formula made up of entirely organic materials. It contains a very rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odorless and chemically and biologically inert.

Various third-party companies have applied non-organic glow-in-the-dark paint to vehicles before, but Nissan says it is the first carmaker to directly apply such technology. Nissan's unique paint, if made commercially available, would last for