Glass-infused paint offers cooling breakthrough

Inventors say E-Coating can ‘tackle the serious environmental problems our planet is facing’

The E-coating was the Sustainability winner of the Dyson Awards (Dyson Award)

Researchers have come up with a new form of glass-infused paint that they claim can reduce vast amounts of electricity used by air-conditioning units.

The E-Coating paint, invented by Hoi Fung Ronaldo Chan and Can Jovial Xiao, uses recycled waste glass to create a reflective cooling cover that can be applied to roofs and walls to reflect the Sun’s rays.

The innovation was among the 2023 James Dyson Award global winners, announced on Wednesday, which grants £30,000 to support the next stages of its development.

“We invented E-Coating with a desire to help tackle the serious environmental problems our planet is facing,” said inventor Ronaldo Chan.

“The prize money will allow us to further our research and development goals and start a company to take our invention to the next level.”

Mr Chan and his fellow inventors plan to use the money to improve the E-Coating’s adhesion and ease of application, as well as investigate new formulas for indoor use.

“Ronaldo and Can Jovial Xiao have come up with a clever way to turn waste into something much more valuable,” said James Dyson. “It is a dual solution that is good for the environment and saves money.”

Other winners of the awards include a hands-free IV device that allows medics in disaster zones to transport patients without having to hold up IV packs, as well as a ‘Life Chariot’ that serves as an off-road trailer that can be used for medical evacuations.

The success of the E-Coating comes just one week after scientists demonstrated a new ultra-white ceramic material that can reflect 99.6 per cent of sunlight – a record high.

An experiment with the material on a house roof was able to reduce electricity consumption for cooling by more than 20 per cent.

The development of the ceramic is still in the experimental stages, with a study published in the journal Science on 9 November, however the researchers claim it could be easily mass produced using common materials.