Kunlun Lubricant Joins Hands with Shanghai Jiao Tong University to Build a Joint Laboratory for Automotive Lubricant Research

On August 11, 2011, PetroChina Lubricant Company and Shanghai Jiao Tong University signed a strategic cooperation agreement, announcing the official establishment of the Joint Laboratory for Automotive Lubricant Research initiated by both parties. The laboratory will focus on the development of lubricant products for new energy vehicles (electric vehicles). Industry analysts note that, as a leading enterprise in China's lubricant industry, PetroChina Lubricant Company has always emphasized close cooperation with automakers in order to research and develop customized lubricant products for them. The establishment of the laboratory will greatly advance Kunlun Lubricant's R&D of lubricating oils for new energy vehicles and further strengthen the market competitiveness of Kunlun lubricant products.

In recent years, low-carbon, environmentally friendly and energy-saving development has become an inevitable requirement for the sustainable development of all industries, and the new energy vehicle industry, still in its ascendancy, has become the most fiercely contested field in automotive R&D. Trends in the automotive industry have always been a guiding factor affecting lubricant product development, and the rapid growth of electric vehicles has also set new requirements for lubricant R&D. How to meet the challenges brought by new energy vehicles has become a frontier topic that lubricant brands must face.

It is understood that the joint laboratory initiated by Kunlun Lubricant and Shanghai Jiao Tong University will target frontier market segments such as new energy vehicles (electric vehicles), focusing on jointly building a test bench for electric vehicle drivetrain fluids and on carrying out technical research and market application development in emerging fields. The two sides will combine the current status and future needs of the automotive and lubricant industries to jointly conduct forward-looking research and development of new topics, new technologies and new applications, in support of the rapid and sustainable development of the industry.

At the same time, building on the electric vehicle drivetrain test bench of the National Engineering Laboratory for Automotive Electronic Control Technology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the two sides will add the hardware required for a lubricant evaluation bench, and will establish a suitable test method for evaluating the service performance of lubricating oils, so that bench tests and road tests can be correlated. This will provide a basis for lubricant producers to develop suitable products and to create lubricants dedicated to electric vehicle drivetrains.

On the same day, Liao Guoqin, General Manager of PetroChina Lubricant Company, said that his company, whose mission is to improve the country's lubrication standards, will in the future rely mainly on technology to drive corporate development. The purpose of initiating the Joint Laboratory for Automotive Lubricant Research with Shanghai Jiao Tong University is to strengthen the R&D of lubricants for new energy vehicles. This move will, on the one hand, enhance the company's competitiveness in the gasoline engine oil segment and, on the other hand, help Kunlun Lubricant build up technology reserves and stand at the forefront of the industry.

At present, as an industry strongly supported by the state, China's new energy vehicle industry is developing rapidly, bringing new topics and challenges to the lubricant industry. But wherever there is friction, there is lubrication, and the rise of the new energy vehicle industry will also bring more opportunities and vitality to the domestic lubricant industry. As a professional lubricant company integrating industry, academia and research, PetroChina Lubricant Company will continue to rely on Kunlun Lubricant's strong scientific research capabilities, strengthen cooperation with well-known automotive universities, automakers and other parties in the automotive industry chain, and devote itself to generating independent innovation achievements and developing fit-for-purpose lubricant products, helping China complete its transformation from a major automobile country into a strong automotive industry power.