In the ongoing fight against Covid, automakers have been offering solutions to stop the spread of the virus in car interiors. Last month, Mitsubishi announced its Diamond Premium Care disinfectant spray for interiors had been approved by the EPA. Ford also released software that increased the temperature of its Police Interceptor Utility based on the 2020 Ford Explorer to over 133 degrees Fahrenheit to burn away the virus.

Renault is also taking a novel approach by partnering with Israeli lighting company Juganu to develop a unique Covid-zapping lighting system. The collaboration was formed after Juganu won Renault's Licence to Clean Hackathon hosted between August and October 2020 seeking new sanitization solutions from startup companies across Europe, Turkey, Russia, Israel, and India to prevent the spread of pathogens in cars.

Juganu's J. Protect patented lighting solution comes as an ultra-thin surface light ideal for restricted spaces like a car cabin, compartments, body, and a trailer. The wireless solution is operated remotely using a mobile app with two key modes: Allegro and Presto. The former offers continuous protection with lighting that uses a pre-set combination of wavelengths to disinfect cabins even with occupants inside. While Presto mode uses UV-C to disinfect the cabin interior in minutes after passengers exit the vehicle.

Based on simulations and testing, Juganu is confident its lighting system can disinfect 99.9 percent of pathogens inside a car cabin after just five minutes of use, including the Sars-Cov-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

Its patented 'Multi Random Ray' can also suppress both aerosol- and surface-attached pathogens in hard-to-reach places. "Partnering with such an iconic automaker like Renault would be an incredible honor for the entire Juganu team," says Juganu CEO and Co-founder Eran Ben-Shmuel.

"Once the Covid-19 pandemic started, we understood we had the capability to inactivate the virus just by using our light. We created J. Protect to disinfect air and surfaces in indoor environments with the light above and this collaboration would allow us to bring this technology to the automotive industry during a very critical time."