PETRONAS Holds Inaugural Electric Vehicle Fluids Symposium In Turin, Italy

Datò Sri Syed Zainal, Vice President of Downstream Marketing, PETRONAS and Chairman of PLI addressing the crowd in Turin.

The days of the internal combustion engine (ICE) are numbered and national oil company, PETRONAS, is aware of it. Last week, its global lubricants manufacturing and marketing arm, PETRONAS Lubricants International (PLI), held the inaugural Electric Vehicle (EV) Fluids Symposium at its Global Research and Technology (R&T) Centre in Turin (or Torino), Italy.

The one-day symposium drew more than 120 participants, including industry-leading experts from across the world, to discuss and feature EV innovations that support a cleaner, more energy-efficient and more sustainable electric mobility future. This gathering provided a platform for these experts to share future EV technology trends, their market relevance and the role of fluids in the evolution of e-transmission and battery technologies.

Additionally, the EV Fluids Symposium aimed to encourage discussions on managing the climate challenge by harnessing EV technological developments and operational discipline. “At PLI, we’ve pledged to double our investments and dedicate 75% of our R&T expenditure in projects that contribute to reducing CO2 emissions. PLI’s venture into the EV market that was announced earlier this year through PETRONAS iona range of e-fluids reinforces our commitment to the development and deployment of fluid technology. The EV Fluids Symposium is our next initiative to work together, deliberate possibilities and set a shared agenda towards a cleaner future,” said PLI Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer, Giuseppe D’Arrigo.

Mr Andy Cowell, Managing Director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.

During the symposium, PLI also shared the findings of the industry’s first global study in EV Technology and Fluids, focusing on Electric Drive Units and Batteries. The study was done in collaboration with FEV Consulting and concluded that innovation is crucial in advancing EV performance and durability, and continued improvement is needed to promote increased adoption rates of electric transportation by consumers.

L-R: Mr Roger Atkins; Mr Alex Read, Senior Director Siemens Industries, Simulation & Test Solutions; Mr Andreas Wiartalla, Director FEV Consulting; and Mr Eric Holthusen, Chief Technology Officer PLI.

“Change is a challenge, and with the rapid integration of electric vehicles into the global mobility ecosystem, that challenge is being met with unprecedented and active collaboration between OEMs, academia, and the world’s smartest engineering teams. I am encouraged to see the focus and ambition here at the EV Fluids Symposium. The twin imperatives of climate change and air quality can only be tackled by truly maximising the efficiency of our planet’s mobility machines, amongst others,” commented Roger Atkins, Electric Vehicle Outlook Founder & Event Host.

Attendees of the symposium were given the opportunity to tour the PETRONAS Global R&T Centre’s product development laboratory and mechanical testing facilities to understand the experimental work that goes into developing PETRONAS e-fluids.

Since the introduction of PETRONAS Carbon Commitments in 2012, the company has decreased its monitored carbon footprint by 13% from 2017, which is a cumulative 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions reduction. PETRONAS is also collaborating with Daimler Automotive in green projects towards low-carbon fuel and vehicle emissions control.

More recently, PETRONAS’ efforts towards a sustainable future included the establishment of PETRONAS Carbon Commitments Guidelines and a New Energy unit to enhance capabilities in the renewables sphere.

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