API Calls for Standardized EV Fluids 
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API Calls for Standardized EV Fluids 

By Simon Johns - Jun 23, 2023

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The American Petroleum Institute, the United States-based hydrocarbons industry standards association, said there is an urgent need for standardized electric vehicle fluid specifications. EVs present new demands on fluids compared with internal combustion engines.

In 2021, the Society of Automotive Engineers started a technical committee to author EV fluids specification. European automotive industry associations are doing the sae on the other side of the Atlantic.

Challenges to tribologists include aeration at high motor speeds, potential negative interactions between fluids and exposed copper components and altered behavior of lubricants and additives in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. 

Recognizing the importance of addressing these challenges, API has been inviting automotive and lubricant industry stakeholders to cooperate more closely to devise a standard. Its initiative aims to bring together original equipment manufacturers, tier suppliers and lubricant manufacturers to jointly develop and define fluid performance standards tailored to EVs. It aims to establish standardized test methods that encompass hardware protection, copper compatibility, electrical properties and thermal management.

Currently, the absence of such standardized tests restricts the industry’s ability to innovate and limits the availability of comprehensive solutions.

Speaking at a recent industry event in Malaysia, Dennis Bachelder, a senior engineer at API, outlined the challenges faced by EVs and called for collaborative efforts to establish comprehensive fluid standards, according to media reports.

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