The Garage 308

Feature Electric Vehicles 28
Electric evolution: Lubricants adapt
to the demands of electric vehicles
VLS Chairman Andrew Goddard reviews the
challenges the lubricants industry faces with
the impending bans on petrol, diesel and now
hybrid engines from 2035 and the increasing
importance of the role of electric vehicles.
Do lubricants
still have a role to
play in a future vehicle
market dominated
by electric
vehicles? Electric vehicles do
operate differently to internal
combustion engines, but
they still need lubricants.
In internal combustion engines,
the role of lubricants
has always been to help the
engine run smoothly and efficiently
by reducing friction
in moving parts, so delivering
maximum efficiency
for drivers at lower maintenance
costs. Using the correct
lubricants can enhance
the performance of the engines
and protect them over
the longer-term.
Fully electric vehicles still
require lubrication, but these
drive-line lubricants must be
adapted to meet the different
challenges of battery-powered
engines. The engines
in electric vehicles operate
at higher temperatures, particularly
when fast-charging.
This means that the lubricant
not only has to perform
just as well under heat pressure,
but it must also help to
dissipate this increased level
of heat around the engine to
maintain the engine components
effectively and resist
oxidation, caused by higher
temperatures.
The quantity of these
drive-line lubricants required
is significantly less
than in conventional internal
combustion engine vehicles.
However, even as little as a
single litre of lubricant needs
to be a truly multi-purpose
fluid, supporting transmission,
gears and even braking
in some instances. So,
although the volume of lubricant
required in electric
vehicles is significantly less
than conventional vehicles,
it is likely that the value of
that single, multi-purpose
lubricant will be much higher,
due to the technical com-
28, 29 EV.indd 1 25/02/2020 09:45