Energy-efficient products

Energy efficiency can deliver up to 38% of what is needed to keep global warming below two degrees Celcius (2°C) by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.

Engines and machines consume huge amounts of energy to overcome friction. In a typical car, friction alone accounts for around 20% of the fuel burned.

Shell’s advanced technology and customer knowledge has helped us develop a range of lubricants and other products to help customers save energy and reduce emissions (see www.shell.com).

Fuel-saving lubricants

Working with the Netherlands-based haulage firm Van der Lee, we have helped to increase the fuel efficiency of its vehicles over the last three years.

Tests on part of the company’s fleet found that using one of our longer-lasting advanced heavy-duty lubricants, Shell Rimula, they could lower fuel consumption by an average of 2.1%. For a typical Van der Lee Volvo truck with a 13-litre engine travelling around 100,000 kilometres each year, this translates into around 600 fewer litres of fuel burned.

Across the company’s 160 Volvo trucks, this could mean a reduction in CO₂ emissions of around 250 metric tonnes. Van der Lee has now upgraded all its Volvo fleet to use Shell Rimula.

Keeping China’s gas buses on the road

Shell Rimula helped improve the efficiency of a large fleet of public buses in Qingdao City, in eastern China, by extending the interval between maintenance stops. In a bid to tackle emissions, the city fuelled around 40% of its buses with cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas. The buses covered up to 1,000 kilometres per week and required an oil change every 14,000 kilometres, or around every three months.

By switching to Shell’s engine oil, the company running public transport in the city more than doubled the amount of time its fleet could stay on the road between oil changes and made significant savings from the reduced amount of oil used.

Lower energy solution for packaging firm

The German packaging company AGI Freden reduced the energy consumption of its injection moulding machine by 4% by switching to our specialised lubricant hydraulic fluid, Shell Tellus. This lubricant, designed to last longer, will also help the company save on hydraulic fluid consumption and maintenance costs.