Shell and FAW TRUCKS Achieve 32% Battery Life Gain with Immersion Fluid
Enhancing heavy-duty battery durability and thermal efficiency, Shell Lubricants and FAW TRUCKS successfully validate direct immersion liquid cooling on a hybrid commercial truck.
Shell Lubricants and FAW TRUCKS have reached a technical milestone in commercial vehicle battery thermal management. Successfully validated aboard the Shell Starship 3.0 Hybrid concept vehicle, a co-developed battery pack using Shell’s electrically insulating immersion cooling fluid is being evaluated for future series production across FAW TRUCKS’s hybrid commercial lineup.
For heavy-duty fleet operators, powertrain engineers, and transport logistics executives, the technology addresses cell degradation risks associated with high-power continuous discharge and rapid charging cycles.
“As commercial vehicles continue to evolve, so do the technologies needed to support them,” said Cara Tredget, Vice President of Mobility & Lubricants Technology at Shell. “By working closely with OEMs like FAW TRUCKS, we're developing advanced fluid solutions designed to support evolving vehicle technologies.”
By surrounding individual battery cells with dielectric fluid rather than relying on conventional bottom-plate cooling, the pack achieves uniform heat dissipation. Independent verification by the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) indicates a potential battery service life extension of up to 32 percent, a 0.8 percent overall vehicle energy efficiency improvement, and up to a 98 percent increase in maximum gradability.
"Battery thermal management is becoming increasingly important as commercial vehicles demand higher power, greater efficiency and faster charging capabilities," stated Wang Jianyu, President of the Commercial Vehicle Development Institute at FAW TRUCKS.
The immersion-cooled battery system and the Shell Starship Hybrid vehicle will be exhibited at the FAW TRUCKS booth during IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover, Germany, starting September 14.
