KEEPING YOUR COOL

Many resources are allocated for optimal thermal management in ICE and alternative green mobility solutions. Ashish Bhatia scouts the key advancements and aftermarket inclusions.

- Ashish Bhatia

The most common way to keep systems cool is lubricants. Here, viscosity is known to be the most important property of a base oil. So much so that the health of the lubricant is monitored based on viscosity alone. Beyond viscosity, the role of additives within the lubricant is crucial. These are organic or inorganic compounds dissolved or suspended as solids in oil and normally account for between 0.1 to 30 percent of the oil volume. They enhance existing base oil properties, suppress undesirable base oil properties, impart new properties to base oils, and act as deactivators and tackiness agents. An interesting concept, cling has additives that attract contaminations like dirt, silica and water to in turn settle at the bottom or be filtered out depleting the additive package which is "sacrificial" in nature.

➤ Coolants

The engine cooling system market alone is projected to grow from USD 34.1 bn in 2023 to USD 49.7 bn by 2032. It translates to a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.8 per cent to set a context. An InsightAce Analytic Pvt. Ltd. study pegs the 'Global EV Battery Pack Cooling System' market at USD 2.85 Bn in 2023, and it is expected to reach USD 8.09 Bn by 2031, with a CAGR of 14.21 per cent during the forecast period of 2024-2031. Leading players like Dana, Boyd, Hanon, Kreisel, MAHLE, TotalEnergies, Valeo and XING are among prominent players. Complicated manufacturing processes and high up front costs are among the headwinds for the segment.