A new e-axle cooling oil that can be used in the e-axle drive units, electronics and battery systems of EVs and HEVs has been developed by Idemitsu Kosan (Idemitsu).
With the number of EVs and HEVs on the road ever-increasing, it is vital that crucial components such as electronics, motors, batteries, gears and bearings, among others, are kept at an optimal temperature to ensure they work correctly over their respective service life. At present, a wide range of different cooling systems are being considered, including water-cooled systems, e-axle oil and battery cooling oil but Idemitsu believes these solutions will result in “overly complex circuitry”.
To simplify the cooling circuit and to reduce the number of necessary components, Idemitsu has developed an e-axle cooling oil to save space – offering more design freedom – and to unify oil types for a multitude of components.
Idemitsu’s oil can be used to cool e-axles – the motor, power control unit (PCU) and speed reducer – and a vehicle’s battery. The flexibility of the solution will result in a simplified cooling system and the efficient lubrication of vital components.