Supporting customers with impending “E-Mobility”

As the world emerges from the global pandemic the environment has retaken its place at the forefront of the minds of policymakers, industry, and consumers.

The lubricant industry has a pivotal role in shaping this new greener world and many, like us, see this as an exciting opportunity. With the rise of hybrid and electric vehicles, the automotive and commercial vehicle industries are going through a profound shift. For many of our customers e-mobility represents some of the biggest engineering and design changes in the industry’s history.

To give some context as to why the lubricants industry has such a major role to play, consider for a moment that 25% of all global CO2 emissions are produced by transport in some shape or another. They all need lubricants to function correctly, efficiently and for extended periods. In the future equipment will likely need to last longer & work harder as “cradle to grave” manufacturers responsibilities are likely to increase.

To reach the Paris accord agreed level of limiting global warming by 1.5C agreed by 196 nations, CO2 emissions will need to half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, a truly monumental task.

The electrification of vehicles is going some way to reducing emissions however this then increases pressure on renewable energy, otherwise the emissions are simply transferred back down the supply chain to the power station. Even with this change industry experts predict that by 2027 around 80% of vehicles will still have an internal combustion engine in some form or another and by 2040 forecasts predict there will be 1.6 billion cars on the worlds roads (compared to 1.4 in 2030), and just 31% of these will be fully electric.

A number of vehicle manufacturers are developing alternatives to full electric with increasing use of Biofuels and hydrogen amongst the most promising.

But it is most likely a combination of many technologies will be implemented to achieve the net zero goal however, the correct choice of lubricant will make a substantial difference to the fuel efficiency, drain interval and long-term protection of the vehicle.

On the 15^th of December 2020 European truck manufacturers, all members of ACEA released the following statement:

Europe’s truck manufacturers have concluded that by 2040 all new trucks sold need to be fossil free in order to reach carbon-neutrality by 2050. It will be possible to meet this target provided the right charging/refuelling infrastructure is built and a coherent policy framework is put into place, including comprehensive CO2 pricing to drive the transition.

ACEA (The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) is a trade association that includes all 15 major European Automobile manufacturers as members. Their role is to release specifications that are appropriate to the vehicles currently within the market as well as those to be released in the future. The specifications they release are called sequences and are reviewed and updated approximately every 2-years.

Whilst the exact technicalities are outside the scope of this article, the latest release is the 2020 version and for the first time include the new ACEA C6 test specifically targeted at fuel efficiency indicating a firm direction of travel within our industry.

The future will continue see lubricant viscosities continue to become even thinner to gain the most fuel economy, this is already happening with 5W-30 becoming more common in the heavy-duty diesel market in fact the new Scania LDF-5 will be based on a 5W-20 grade.

It is also likely that the vehicle manufacturers will wish to see environmental sustainability filtered back down through their supply chains with the lubricant industry expected to play their part.

As part of that expectation, Witham Group are already ahead of the game and we are able to offer customers a great deal of support during this “E-Volution” of change, to help meet these new challenges.  With our carbon neutral blended lubricants, recycled packaging and bulk storage solutions, along with a growing range of biodegradable and environmentally friendly, yet high performing lubricants, and industry leading technical knowledge we continually stay on top of requirements and solutions.

If you would like to speak to us about how to prepare your own business for these new challenges ahead – please do get in touch and we will be more than happy to help.