Nissan has become the first manufacturer to apply glow-in-the-dark car paint to showcase how its all-electric Leaf is helping more and more people 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. According to Nissan Motor GB EV manager, Paul O’Neill, “The Nissan Leaf is a shining beacon of sustainability and the future of motoring. Not only is it saving our customers money in running costs but it we are now seeing how it is helping people become more environmentally sensitive by reducing their carbon footprint.”

While glowing car paint is already available, as are glow-in-the-dark car wraps, the ultraviolet-energised paint created especially for Nissan is unique thanks to its formula made up of entirely organic materials. It contains a rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odourless and chemically and biologically inert. Various third-party companies have applied non-organic glow-in-the-dark paint to vehicles before but Nissan is the first carmaker to directly apply such technology.

Nissan’s unique paint, if made commercially available, would last for 25 years. Research revealed recently by Nissan showed that 89 percent of Leaf owners charge their cars at home 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.