In the Jan-Feb 2015 AutoVolt, we reported about a road illuminated by luminous paint, rather than by lights.
A road in Holland is being tested with electroluminescent paint that literally lights up the road rather than using street lights. What’s more, the special paint is charged by the power of the sun during the day and can glow all night long. In the event of long winter nights or cloud cover, it can still be illuminated using power from other sources of renewable energy. Tokyo has already expressed interest ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
We also reported online about Nissan’s quite amazing glow-in-the-dark paint, which they decided to spray onto a willing guinea-pig in the form of a Nissan LEAF.
What do you get when you put the two together? A scene worthy of its own Halloween film. And, guess what? Nissan have done exactly that, complete with surreal music track… though not a ghost or ghoul in sight.
It heralds a first time for everything a phosphorescent car to be driven on the famous stretch of illuminated Norwegian road. The location was fitting for more reasons than just the etheral paint though, as Nissan has announced an uplift in electric vehicle sales of 313% in the Netherlands last year. Notable successes include fleet deals, which saw the City of Amsterdam and public transport provider Connexxion purchase 200 and 100 e-NV200s respectively.
A 600-metre stretch of the N329 highway – a major transport link that runs through the city of Oss – has been upgraded with these Glowing Lines. The lines absorb light during the day and glow for eight hours over night. The result is said to increase visibility and safety. The designer, Daan Roosegaarde said:
“The Glowing Lines on The Smart Highway replace standard street lighting to reduce electrical energy consumption. To have the world’s first glow-in-the-dark car on our road is a privilege and it mirrors goals that we want to achieve with our Smart Highway.”
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 its secret formula. It contains a solid, odourless Rare Earth Metal called Strontium Aluminate.
Nissan will attend the Amsterdam Motor Show on 17-26 April 2015 where its stand will showcase the all-electric zero-emission LEAF.
Source; Nissan
