Trendy LED headlights have an issue: They’re shiny, compact, and energy-efficient, however they do not generate as a lot warmth as HID or halogen lights. Which means they’re extra more likely to accumulate a coating of snow, ice, or moisture that may disrupt illumination. Rivian seems to be engaged on an answer.
In a patent software filed with the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO), Rivian lays out a design for heated LED headlight lenses. That doc was filed by Rivian on Jun. 21, 2023, however solely printed by the USPTO on Dec. 26, 2024.
Rivian heated headlight patent picture
Rivian’s design depends on a layer of carbon nanotube materials—so named as a result of it is compromised of tube-shaped lattices of carbon atoms lower than a nanometer in diameter—added to the outer lens of a headlight. Carbon nanotubes are identified to have good thermal conductivity, which could be the rationale behind Rivian’s selection of this materials.
This layer could be surrounded by a silver bus-bar heating factor. Present is run by way of the heating factor which in flip heats up the carbon nanotube layer and melts any snow, ice, or different moisture sticking to the headlight.
Rivian heated headlight patent picture
Many patented concepts fail to succeed in manufacturing, however Rivian may not need to take care of the regulatory hurdles that beforehand blocked the newest headlight tech within the U.S. The NHTSA in 2022 lastly permitted the usage of trendy matrix headlights after practically a decade of petitioning from automaker. It is unclear how the security regulator will react to Rivian’s integral heating parts, however this does at the very least present a willingness to revisit archaic lighting laws.
Rivian itself acquired a $5.8 billion funding from Volkswagen, in addition to conditional approval of a $6.6 billion mortgage from the federal authorities for its Georgia manufacturing unit, which is scheduled to open in 2028.