Formula E Racing Highlights Big Brand Focus on EV Products

Jan. 22, 2020

Companies that have for decades provided performance engine oils for the racing scene are now showing their electric vehicle chops in the electric vehicle circuit.

Jan. 22, 2020—A recent article published by Reuters takes a look at how big oil is shifting some resources to the electric vehicle market. The venue in this case? Formula E racing.

These are companies that have been major players in the combustion-engine racing world. But with the electric vehicle racing series Formula E growing alongside the consumer EV market, they're looking to provide relevant products.

The Reuters article focuses on Shell, which has been a longtime sponsor of Ferrari's F1 team. In Formula E, the company has partnered with Nissan and Mahindra. A Shell spokesman told Reuters that some people might be skeptical about an oil company's role in EVs.

“But there are still lubricants and coolants involved in that technology, and we want to be pioneering in that space," said Richard Tucker, General Manager of Shell Lubricants Technology, according to the story.

Tucker said that one application is in fluids that wick heat away from hardworking batteries, perhaps even in a full immersion setting.

Shell is hardly the only oil company working to break into the EV market. ExxonMobil announced in September that its partnering with Porsche for the current Formula E season. Later that same month, Valvoline announced its line of EV fluids and a grease specifically for EV applications.