Castrol changes vehicle engine oil in 90 seconds

Nexcel simplifies the process of changing car engine oil by swapping an oil-filled ‘cell’

Fuels and lubricants firm Castrol has told PE it plans to switch the entire global automotive industry to its cartridge oil change technology.

The technology, called Nexcel, simplifies the process of changing car engine oil by swapping an oil-filled ‘cell’ in a 90-second operation. The technology substantially reduces servicing time and also enables a higher proportion of oil to be recycled because less contamination occurs.

Oliver Taylor, chief engineer of Nexcel, said that Castrol will license the technology for industry-wide adoption and that it will be an open system. He said: “The compelling benefits are such that we believe the whole industry should move to this technology. We’re bringing it to market, but Nexcel is not Castrol-specific. A number of different oil manufacturers will be able to fill the oil cells.”

Talyor confirmed that the development of the technology had already involved several car manufacturers and that he expected the first high-volume vehicles to feature the technology in five years’ time. An Aston Martin technology demonstrator is planned for 2017. 

Nexcel has been in development for four years and there are around 50 people working on it within Castrol. 

The Nexcel refillable oil cell unit is about the size of a car battery and slides into a dock next to the engine. The oil cell, which holds up to five litres of oil, is sealed, and contains a filter, an electronics interface on the side with the inlet/outlets at the bottom.

Nexcel has to be integrated into a vehicle at the design stage, said Talyor. The dock and an electric pump has to be fitted. The pump, which is between the sump and the oil cell, operates when the engine is on and when the oil is being changed – the 90-second duration of changeover is driven by the time it takes to pump the oil into the cell. 

Taylor said that the CO₂ savings enabled by Nexcel would drive industry adoption. The integration of engine electronics with Nexcel will enable oil manufacturers to produce “hyperspecific” lubricants paired to particular engine types. The technology also improves the engine’s operations in the cold. He said: “With a cold engine, we deliver just the amount of oil the engine needs. Because there is less oil in the engine, it heats up quicker, which enables its viscosity to reduce faster, lowering friction. It also enables the whole engine to heat up more quickly because there is less cold oil circulating. Once the engine is hot the rest of the lubricant is introduced.”