Toronto, Ontario — Nissan has been trialling an automotive paint aimed at lowering a vehicle’s ambient cabin temperature by as much as 12 degrees Celsius in summer and reducing the energy usage of vehicle air-conditioning systems.
The paint, developed in partnership with Radi-Cool, a specialist in radiative cooling products, incorporates metamaterial synthetic composite materials and is part of Nissan’s pursuit of differentiated solutions toward a greener future.
Although still in the testing phase, Nissan says testing has shown that when parked side-by-side under the sun, a vehicle treated in the cooling paint has shown yields of up to a 21.6-degree Fahrenheit reduction in exterior surface temperatures and up to nine-degrees Fahrenheit—or 12 degrees Celsius—reduction in interior temperatures when compared to a vehicle featuring traditional automotive paint.”
The paint specifically functions by relying on two microstructure particles that react to light. One particle reflects near-infrared rays in the sunlight that would typically cause molecular-level vibrations within the resin of traditional paint to produce heat. From here, the second particle creates electromagnetic waves that counteract the sun’s rays, redirecting the energy away from the vehicle and into the atmosphere. With this, Nissan’s cooling paint reduces the transfer of heat into surfaces such as the roof, hood, doors and panels.
While radiant cooling paints are not a new technology, they are typically used for buildings and are often very thick, requiring application by a paint roller.
“My dream is to create cooler cars without consuming energy,” said Fr. Susumu Miura, senior management and expert at the Advanced Materials and Processing Laboratory, Nissan Research Center “This is especially important in the electric vehicle era, where the load from running air-conditioning in summer can have a sizeable impact on the state of charge.”
Since commencing the development of the paint in 2021, researchers have tested over 100 samples and are currently evaluating a thickness of 120 microns, approximately six times thicker than typical automotive paint.
The research team has further confirmed that the cooling paint is resistent to salt and chipping, peeling, scratches and chemical reactions, on top of colour consistency and repairability.
In future, the team intends to continue developing thinner options for the paint that deliver the same level of cooling performance. The team also hopes to one day offer the paint for special orders and in a variety of colours.
For more information about the cooling paint, click here.
