Israeli startup SolCold is working on a material that uses anti-Stokes fluorescence (which has a wavelength shorter than the wavelength of excitation light) to reflect solar heat from a car or other object (e.g. buildings).
The technology has sparked the interest of major automakers such as Toyota and Volkswagen. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the coating, SolCold has placed two white hatchbacks in the sun. vw Polo: one coated and one uncoated. The uncoated Polo reached 55°C while the coated car only reached 37°C. It’s too much, but it’s bearable.
What is really impressive is the temperature of the third Poloparked in the shade, the inside temperature was 40°C. This means that the SolCold coating is more effective than the shade.
SolCold said that depending on the size of the car interior, the coating can lower the temperature inside it by 20-70%. This relieves the burden on the climate system and protects the health of the driver and passengers. The materials used in SolCold are non-toxic and free of rare earth elements. The reflected energy will not blind others because of the nanostructure that scatters light.
SolCold is due to launch later this year and the coating could be available on production vehicles.
A picture: Christian Wiediger Unsplash
Video: SolCold