Sustainability and E-Mobility: How Ester Base Oils Help to Shape the Future

OQ is hosting a special webinar on Wednesday March 24, focusing on the added value of esters as base oils and their use in ‘environmentally acceptable lubricants’ and thermal management fluids that transform how electric vehicles perform.

The webinar, entitled ‘Ester base oils – meeting the needs of tomorrow’, will be hosted by Dr Jens Kubitschke, Business Development Europe at OQ. In addition to discussing how ester base oils can help formulators develop readily biodegradable lubricants, he will also explain how esters’ specific properties enable a new technology for more efficient cooling of electric vehicles’ batteries: immersion cooling.

“Esters as base oils can provide low viscosity and high flash points as well as excellent thermal and dielectric properties – those properties are needed for future electric vehicles using immersion cooling,” says Dr Jens Kubitschke.

Being non-conductive is a prerequisite as batteries are directly submerged into the fluid using this new technology. This offers a much more efficient heat removal, which is key to increasing charging rates.

Commenting on the webinar, Kubitschke explains that, “thermal management of the battery in an electric vehicle is of very high importance. Batteries work best in a temperature range from 15-35°C. If the temperature gets too high (or too low), this leads to decreased capacity and lifetime. To achieve ultrafast charging rates, a more efficient technology of heat removal is necessary. Immersion cooling using ester base oils could be a game-changer in this regard.”

OQ, a global, integrated energy company with roots in Oman and operating in 17 countries worldwide, covers the entire value chain from exploration and production to marketing and distribution of end-user products. Its Lubricants & Functional Fluids industry segment produces carboxylic acids, polyols and esters. The latter are used as base oils for biodegradable lubricants. Due to low viscosity and excellent dielectric properties, they are also ideal for immersion in cooling fluids for electric vehicles.

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