BP focuses on EV battery research

1 August 2022

BP is to invest up to £50 million in a new electric vehicle (EV) battery testing centre and analytical laboratory in the UK in Berkshire. 

Planned to open by the end of 2024, the new facilities will be located at the organisation’s existing global headquarters for its Castrol lubricants business in Pangbourne, and will conduct research into fluid technologies and engineering for hybrid and fully battery vehicles.

Castrol has developed ‘e-fluids’ to manage temperatures within batteries, enabling ultra-fast charging and allowing EVs to go further on a single charge. They are also claimed to extend the life of the drivetrain system.

BP says that these technologies can also be applied to other industries, such as thermal management fluids for data centres. Most of the world’s internet traffic goes through data centres and since 2010 global internet traffic has increased 15-fold, a trend expected to continue over the next decade.

Fluids from Castrol’s ON range are used by the Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team. The aim is for the new centre to continue to work with car manufacturers and suppliers to co-engineer future battery technology and associated thermal management fluids, as well as ultra-fast charging.