“Cool Paint Job!” Nissan Develops Paint to Lower Car Temperature

Nissan has been developing an exterior automotive paint that can lower a vehicle's ambient cabin temperature in summer. This will not only make the cabin more comfortable to enter but should also reduce the energy usage of the air conditioning system. Everyone at Dick Smith Nissan of Lexington who gets in and out of cars sitting outside all day would love to see this on all Nissans, but it isn’t ready just yet.

Developed in partnership with Radi-Cool, a specialist in radiative cooling products, the paint incorporates metamaterial, synthetic composite materials with structures that exhibit features of two microstructure particles that react to light. One particle reflects near-infrared rays in the sunlight that would typically cause molecular vibrations within the resin and produce heat. The second particle creates electromagnetic waves that counteract the sun's rays, redirecting the energy away from the vehicle into the atmosphere. When combined, both particles reduce heat transfer into surfaces such as the roof, hood, doors, and panels.

Dr. Susumu Miura, Senior Manager and expert at the Advanced Materials and Processing Laboratory in the Nissan Research Center, is leading the development. He played a leading role in Nissan's noise-reducing acoustic meta-material, which received a 2020 Popular Science “Best of What’s New” award in the automotive category.

"My dream is to create cooler cars without consuming energy," explained Miura. "This is especially important in the EV era, where the load from running air-conditioning in summer can have a sizable impact on the state of charge," he said.

You won’t see the paint on production cars just yet, but field testing of the paint has begun. Nissan commenced a 12-month feasibility trial in November 2023 at Haneda's Tokyo International Air Terminal. Nissan's cooling paint has been applied to a Nissan NV100 service vehicle operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA) airport services. With its large, open tarmac, Haneda airport provided the perfect environment for evaluating the paint's performance in an exposed high-temperature environment.

Although still in the testing phase, the results have been impressive. Parked side-by-side under the sun with an identical vehicle with conventional paint, the vehicle treated with Nissan's cool paint has shown up to a 21.6-degree Fahrenheit reduction in exterior surface temperatures, resulting in a 9-degree Fahrenheit cooler interior, compared to a vehicle featuring traditional automotive paint.

Nissan points out that radiant cooling paint already exists and has been used on buildings.  However, it's often a very thick layer that was applied with a paint roller. It also did not have a clear topcoat, thus can leave a chalky residue when touched.  None of this can apply to vehicles, so Miura’s challenge has been to develop a paint that could incorporate a clear topcoat, be applied via a spray gun, and meet Nissan's rigorous internal standards for paint quality.  Presumably, it would also be best if it could come in a variety of colors. And, of course, it must be affordable.

Miura sees strong potential, particularly for light commercial vehicle applications such as vans, trucks, and ambulances that spend most of the day out driving. Still, anyone south of the Mason-Dixon line would likely appreciate it on their passenger vehicles.

They don’t have trick paint yet, but Dick Smith Nissan of Lexington does have a large inventory of Nissans that are full of other impressive forms of innovation, including the ground-breaking ARYIA EV and the stylish redesigned 2025 Kicks.