Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. has developed an oil that can be used with e-Axle drive units, electronics and battery systems in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs): E AXLE and Electric Parts Cooling Oil.

Including this newly developed oil, Idemitsu now offers a lineup of products in six categories for EVs and HEVs with various applications to provide comprehensive support for electric vehicle technology.

As the world pursues vehicle electrification as part of a global decarbonization push, simplifying vehicle construction is key to optimizing the performance of EVs and HEVs, Idemitsu notes. Energy efficiency, quietness, compactness, and weight savings must all be considered for mechanisms and parts.

Electronics, motors, batteries, gears, bearings, and other parts of EVs and HEVs require cooling and lubrication. Designs that use multiple cooling media, such as cooling water (LLC), e-Axle oil, and battery cooling oil, for each EV and HEV component are being considered, but are expected to result in overly complex circuitry.

In response, Idemitsu has developed the E AXLE and Electric Parts Cooling Oil, with the aim of reducing the number of parts by simplifying the cooling circuit, saving interior space and unifying oil types, with benefits for both manufacturers and consumers.

In particular, the new oil can be used for comprehensive cooling of e-Axle systems, which are increasingly used in EVs and HEVs. In the past, e-Axles required oil to cool motors and lubricate speed reducers, but the E AXLE and Electric Parts Cooling Oil enables direct cooling not only of motors but also other electronics such as the battery and power control unit (PCU).

Going forward, Idemitsu will strengthen its proposals and sales of the newly developed oil as a product for automobile manufacturers and tier-1 suppliers in Japan and overseas.