Castrol subsidiary Nexcel eyes potential in India

Nexcel, a new business venture within Castrol’s lubricants business, is looking at India as a potential location for its oil management technology. By reducing the volume of oil in the engine, Nexcel, which is a plug-and-play ‘oil cell’ system, allows faster warm-up of the engine oil, thereby reducing tailpipe CO2 emissions.

So exactly how much could the reduction in CO2 emissions really be? The company’s tests indicate that Nexcel can reduce tailpipe emissions by 2g/km. One way to visualise it is that for a small well-used family car, the weight of the CO2 Nexcel saved each year is equivalent to one-third of the weight of the car.

The Aston Martin Vulcan was the first production model to be equipped with this technology, while a 2018 Toyota Prius was the first hybrid to be showcased with the sealed oil cell technology. The system occupies the space taken in the engine bay by the battery, which is relocated under the rear passenger seat. This also means that the company needs to be involved with a vehicle manufacturer from the concept stage of a model.

In an interview with Autocar India, David Goosey, Managing Director, Nexcel said, “There is potential for this technology in India since the country has the ability to leapfrog to new technology easier than other nations. Moreover, anything that can improve the environmental performance of automotive transport has got to be a good thing for India. So I am really hopeful that we can establish a partnership with an Indian manufacturer and bring Nexcel to the Indian public.”

He said the company’s goal at the moment is to see the first full-scale production application of this in 2020, “that’s likely to be an off-road application”. Its first passenger car application would likely be in 2024.