Nissan is first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint

Nissan has become the first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to showcase how its all-electric Leaf is helping 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-energised paint created especially for Nissan is unique thanks to being made of entirely organic materials.

It contains a very rare natural earth product called strontium aluminate, which is solid, odourless and chemically and biologically inert.

Nissan’s unique paint, if made commercially available, would last for 25 years.

The manufacturer said many Leaf owners install solar panels at home to their vehicles overnight.

Although solar panels do not store energy or provide it outside of daylight, any leftover power generated during the day is fed back into the national grid and homeowners can get a Government payment for it, meaning that the overnight charge is already paid for.