bp to invest USD60M in EV battery testing, EV fluids in Pangbourne

bp revealed plans to invest up to GBP50 million (USD60.8 million) in a new, state-of-the-art  electric vehicle (EV) battery testing centre and analytical laboratory in the UK. bp has previously  announced its intention to invest up to GBP18 billion (USD21.9 billion) in the UK’s energy system by the end of 2030; this  additional new investment is a further example of bp’s commitment to the country. 

Planned to open by the end of 2024, the new facilities will be located at bp’s existing global headquarters for its Castrol business in Pangbourne, Berkshire, and will support the technology,  engineering and science roles housed there today. The site already undertakes research and  development of fuels, lubricants and electric vehicle (EV) fluids and aims to become a leading hub for fluid technologies and engineering in the UK. 

“We’re backing Britain. We’re fully committed to the UK’s energy transition. This additional investment  will help accelerate the transition to EVs by developing solutions to help decarbonise the transport  sector. This is another example of our ambitious plans to do more, and go faster,” said Louise  Kingham, bp’s UK head of country. 

The new facilities will help advance the development of leading fluid technologies and engineering for  hybrid and fully battery electric vehicles, aiming to bring the industry closer to achieving the key tipping  points for mainstream electric vehicle adoption. 

In addition, the advanced e-fluid technologies and engineering can be applied to other industries such  as thermal management fluids for data centres where demand is rising exponentially. Most of the  world’s Internet Protocol (IP) traffic goes through data centres and since 2010 the number of internet  users worldwide has doubled, while global internet traffic has increased 15-fold, a trend expected to  continue over the next decade.

“We are committed to supporting the electrification of transport and the take-up of electric vehicles. The growth of EV fluids is a huge opportunity, and we aim to be the market leader in this sector. Two thirds of the world’s major car manufacturers use Castrol ON EV fluids as a part of their factory fill and we also supply Castrol ON EV fluids to the Jaguar TCS Racing  Formula E team.  Castrol ON advanced e-fluids manage temperatures within the battery which enables ultra-fast charging and improves efficiency, which help EVs to go further on a single charge and extend the life of the drivetrain system. 

“This significant new investment will now allow us to build additional strategic technologies and  capabilities to further advance EV fluids for the future. The facilities will also be an amazing showcase  to demonstrate our integrated technology expertise to customers as we help drive the transition to  EVs.” 

“At bp pulse we aim to provide the fastest and  most reliable charging experience to our EV customers and continue to invest in our rapid and ultra fast network globally for passenger cars and trucks. This investment will help us co-develop battery  and charger technology and digital solutions with our OEM partners to help EVs go further, charge  faster and last longer,” said Richard Bartlett, senior vice president, bp pulse.

Castrol intends to use the new facilities to continue to work with car manufacturers and suppliers to  co-engineer future battery technology and associated thermal management fluids. It will also look to  develop future technologies required to help to enable the ultra-fast charging which underpins bp  pulse’s growth strategy.