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Volkswagen Preparing Ice-Free Windshields

The Volkswagen Group today announced that it has joined forces with the Fraunhofer Institute to develop the first anti-fogging and anti-icing car windscreen. The automaker wants to spare drivers from the unpleasant task of ice scraping by introducing this concept of ice-free windows.

Unlike heated windows, the new development is based on a psychical principle that prevents the ice layer to form in the first place (at temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees C). The new windows use a wafer-thin transparent coating of indium tin oxide to achieve this.

The conductive "Low-E coating" protects the glass from cooling, so that water on the outer surface does not condense or freeze. No ice film is formed, because radiative heat loss to the cold sky is minimised, and this prevents or delays cooling of the glass surface to below the dew point. Of course, weather conditions such as cloudiness, relative humidity and wind also play a significant role here and affect the windows’ condensation behaviour,” explained the press release.

Of course, the “Low-E coating” can’t prevent ice formation or condensation entirely, but it can significantly reduce the intensity of the processes. The project is still under development, with one current issue being that the new coating affects radio traffic in a car, limiting radio and mobile phone use.

It will take some time before the ice-free car windscreen is market-ready, but we are working intensively toward this goal. The bottom line is that for the Volkswagen Group, the ice-free window represents a successful innovation that is unique worldwide," said Thomas Drescher of Volkswagen Development.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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