Listen to PCI’s recent interview with Anish Thukral and Julie Bert from SRI on this topic in the Coat It! podcast episode, Can Paint Cool Without Power? SRI Thinks So.

As climate-driven heat extremes intensify across the globe, new innovations in passive thermal regulation are beginning to reshape how buildings and infrastructure handle rising temperatures. One such solution comes from SRI, which has developed a white paint that passively reflects solar radiation and emits heat back into space — reducing surface temperatures without consuming energy or relying on traditional cooling systems.

Unlike conventional reflective coatings, this new paint is engineered to manage heat in three ways: it offers enhanced broadband reflectivity across the visible and near-infrared spectrum, optimized UV reflectance to reduce degradation, and selective mid-infrared emissivity to radiate heat away from painted surfaces. The result is a coatings system that performs like a premium architectural paint but functions as a full-spectrum thermal management layer.

According to Julie Bert, director of SRI’s Hardware Research and Technology Lab, “In terms of performance, we’ve seen temperature drops of 20 to 25 °C on bare aluminum surfaces during peak summer sun. Compared to standard white paints, ours is about 10 °C cooler under the same conditions. That kind of performance can significantly cut energy usage for cooling.”

The paint is waterborne, low-VOC and PFAS-free. It can be applied with standard spray equipment, or customized for brush and roller applications. And its manufacturing process fits into existing coatings infrastructure, supporting broad scalability.

Potential applications span a wide range of structures and surfaces, including roofs, building exteriors, animal shelters, warehouses, prefab housing units, outdoor electronic enclosures and transportation containers. In each case, the coating reduces heat loads, enhances thermal comfort, and lowers the energy demands associated with mechanical cooling systems.

“When we talk about rising temperatures, most solutions focus on energy-intensive cooling, like using air conditioning to condition spaces. But our product takes a fundamentally different approach. We've engineered a paint that delivers passive cooling—without needing electricity or ongoing operational costs,” said Anish Thukral, research scientist and materials engineer at SRI.

SRI has entered a licensing agreement with a commercialization partner to bring the product to market and is currently exploring additional partnership opportunities for application-specific deployments.