Customised solutions from Shell Lubricants India
Shell Lubricants India is geared to align business with the new trends in the auto industry. The lubricant company has especially worked to prepare multiple solutions including solutions for the Bharat Stage VI rollout on April 01, 2020. Beyond BSVI, the company has considered the transition to e-mobility while developing its next generation product portfolio. Speaking to Auto Components India, Praveen Nagpal, Chief Technology Officer Shell Lubricants India, said, “The pace with which the transformation has happened is quite fast. We were still behind the global standard, and with BSIV and BSVI we are moving at par with the globe in terms of emission standards.” Nagpal cited the challenge on the hardware development side too. “The hardware needs to be optimised for the fuels. This is an integration of after-treatment devices that help in reducing particulate matter, NOx emissions and so on. Everything has to be integrated to ensure that we meet the new emission norms,” he explained. “You also need new lubricants that are compatible with these,” he added. The company has worked on developing the lubricant range to make it compatible with many of the after-treatment devices existing in the market. To Shell’s advantage, owing to the already existing Euro 6 emission norms in Europe, these lubricants are claimed to have already been validated. Said Nagpal, that the company is especially developing customised solutions for the Indian manufacturers with validations nearing completion.
Reckoned as a diversified international energy company, in India, the company has over 7000 employees, 200,000 retail customers and a strong distribution network with 250 touchpoints. Shell is also credited with bringing world-class energy solutions across traditional and new energy sources, and their derivatives to individuals and enterprises. The company’s lubricants business for instance, is said to be active across the full lubricant supply chain - manufacturing base oils, blending base oils with additives to make finished lubricants, complete with distribution, marketing and sales mechanism for the lubricants in
over 100 countries. Shell’s retail presence in India spans across five States – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
electrified
Shell is also ready for the trend of electrification which is being looked at as a disruptive change in the auto industry. A trend which brings with it unique set of challenges also has components that will require Shell’s lubricants. It is a strong focus area for the company in India. “Electrification has a clear policy mandate and everybody will move towards it. From our point of view, when you move toward electrification you might not be needing engine oil but, you still need a specialised oil for transmission, a specialised grease for the vehicle,” said Nagpal. “You would also require thermic fluids that help in battery cooling. Recently, we have launched our EV oil portfolio. So, we are ready with the solutions and depending upon Indian OEMs requirement we will customise solutions,” added Nagpal.
For India and globally
Being a global company, Shell is banking on its globally proven solutions for India and vice-versa. The company is bringing in global products to India and tweaking them suitably for the Indian customers given that the standard products of the world will not be a ready fit for the India market. This also depends on the OEMs. “Many of the Indian OEMs have their own set of specifications, where your standard branded product might not work. This is because they customise their hardware for the condition here and look for tailor-made solutions,” opined Nagpal. He added that the company based on the need of its OE customers is required to tweak the formulation. Whether it is a passenger car or a heavy commercial vehicle, Nagpal stated the company believes in co-developing products along with the OEMs.The company, is looking for OEMsto take up the OX’ truck project based on its design for instance.
The company’s R&D centre in India is also considered to be a big advantage. The centre is equipped with all the short-term and mid-term needs. In terms of equipment, development, manpower and resources too, Praveen claimed that the company was well equipped to tackle the challenges of future mobility. “Having a lab in India is an advantage because the speed of delivery will definitely improve. And, in some cases, we need to customise a formulation and create a blend. We also need to do advanced screening testing and send samples to Hamburg, Germany or to Shanghai, China for more tests,” he mentioned. The company not only works to cater to the demand in India but also to the rest of the globe with market-specific products from the India centre.
A multi-dimensional business approach
The company’s production capacity is around 150 million litres which the company is hopeful of scaling up in the near to medium term. Even with the advent of EVs, the company does not see a need to drop levels from its existing capacity. With around 35000 retail outlets and around 100+ fuel stations in India, the company instead feels the need to add a few more fuel stations. Shell Lubricants holds a good position in the passenger car segment and senses a huge opportunity to grow in the two-wheeler and commercial vehicle oil segments too. Recently they have partnered with Mahindra & Mahindra and is scouting for such similar partnerships in the automotive space. These partnerships are said to give the company a multidimensional perception in the minds of the customer. Speaking of the void in the industry’s lubricant portfolio, Nagpal drew attention to the huge population of old generation equipment in the industry. Explained Nagpal, that the old equipment might not need a very high-performance product. The company will look to meet the requirement as per the machinery for which it is looking to develop specially suited products.
Focus: Emissions
The end of life cycle structure is missing in India. “There are trucks compatible with BSIV still running on Indian roads. This eventually means there is a possibility of emission levels being the same on such vehicles,” expressed Nagpal. He added that the integration of after-treatment devices plays a key role. These depend on the cost of fitment and the value proposition offered to the customers. The company’s main focus remains emission reduction and to produce oil that is compatible with after
treatment devices. Recently, Shell launched the CK 4 engine oil with a low saps technology and compatible with after-treatment devices with an intent to stabilise the complexity levels for the customer and offer a product in turn suitable for both BSIV and BSVI. With the validation of the next generation products said to be underway for India, the company is known to have reached out to many truck owners and is happy to have received a positive response in return.
“If your oil basically brings a reduction in fuel consumption, it means you are burning less fuel. This eventually means you are now emitting less pollution. In India, we are still talking about 0W30, 0W20 range of oils whether for heavy commercial vehicle or cars. But countries like Japan have started validating 0W12, 0W8 which basically optimise the efficiency of vehicles further leading to reduced fuel consumption,” explained Nagpal.
Lubricant technology today is a mix of two-components: base oil and additive. Nagpal added that during the cycle of improving the performance of a lubricant, one can expect a performance benefit as a contribution mix from both the additive pack and the base oil. In the case of Shell Lubricants, the unique advantage is that the company has a very high-performance base oil based on the Gas To Liquid (GTL) technology. The oil is developed from natural gas and is claimed to be sans any impurities. Among the advantages are the enhanced performance, and reduced emission levels. Justifying the high cost compared to what competitors are offering, quipped Nagpal, “end-user performance matters too.”