SEOUL: Hyundai has announced the launch of what it claims as the world’s first Nano Cooling Film, a vehicle window tint designed to enhance interior cooling efficiency significantly over traditional tint films.
This product uses a nanostructure that optimises heat dissipation, making it particularly effective in hot, dry climates. The film is most effective at higher outdoor temperatures, providing a crucial advantage in regions experiencing extreme heat.
The film is transparent and maintains visibility while blocking heat, a notable improvement on conventional tint films that can impair night-time visibility and trap heat inside the vehicle.
Its unique three-layer composition allows it to selectively block or emit specific wavelengths of solar heat. The outer layer emits heat from inside to outside at mid-infrared wavelengths, while the inner layers reflect incoming solar heat at near-infrared wavelengths, substantially reducing the heat entering the vehicle.
Hyundai demonstrated the film's effectiveness through the "Made Cooler By Hyundai" campaign, applying the film to 70 customer vehicles in Lahore, Pakistan.
Lahore was chosen for this initiative because of its ban on dark window tints for security reasons, making the transparent film an ideal solution. The campaign aims to showcase how the film can significantly improve driving comfort by lowering interior temperatures and reducing the need for air conditioning, thereby lowering energy costs.
Hyundai said the film's ability to maintain high transparency while enhancing cooling efficiency was confirmed through extensive testing.
Comparisons during daylight hours in summer conditions showed that the film could lower the temperature near the driver’s head by up to 10.98°C compared to traditional tint films and by as much as 12.33°C compared to vehicles without any tinting.
Similarly, the crash pad temperature was 15.38°C cooler than that in vehicles with conventional tinting and 22°C cooler than in untinted vehicles.
Hyundai unveiled the film at its "Nano Tech Day" media event in July 2023, where it outlined its intent to develop advanced material technologies for application in mobility products. This launch is part of Hyundai’s broader strategy to innovate in material technology, which precedes the development of parts or systems.
The film not only follows local regulations by not darkening vehicle windows but also provides a significant cooling effect that is enhanced when used in conjunction with regular tint films.
This layered approach increases overall heat reflection and emission, offering even greater cooling benefits.
Hyundai plans to use the empirical data gathered from this pilot campaign to refine the product and prepare for mass production, aiming to enhance the driving experience across climates prone to extreme heat.
