By: IOL Motoring Staff
Sunderland, UK - No, it's not a nuclear powered Nissan Leaf, but it does glow in the dark.
This battery-powered Leaf has been sprayed with a very special paint developed by inventor Hamish Scott that absorbs UV energy during the day so that it glows for 8-10 hours after the sun goes down.
The lit-up Leaf is a publicity stunt to showcase the savings possible by installing solar panels at home and selling the power they generate back to the commercial grid to offset the cost of charging your Leaf every night.
The paint, however, anything but a stunt.
Luminescent paint and car wraps are nothing new, but this one - developed especially for this application - is unique in that its secret formula is made up entirely of organic materials.
The active ingredient, according to Scott, is a very rare natural earth product called Strontium Aluminate, which is solid, odourless and chemically and biologically inert.
If applied commercially, he says, the effect would last for 25 years.
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