Shell Rotella announced it will offer customers carbon neutral lubricants for heavy duty engines in North America. Existing products, Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic and Shell Rotella T5 Synthetic Blend engine oils will now be carbon neutral as a step toward Shell’s target to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society and with their customers.
Shell Rotella is just one of the brands within the Shell global portfolio of lubricants that is committed to providing customers with carbon neutral[1] alternatives. Globally, Shell aims to offset the annual emissions of more than 52 million gallons of advanced synthetic lubricants, expecting to compensate around 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions per year, which is equivalent to eliminating the CO2e emissions generated when driving a gasoline-fueled 2021 Ford F-150 more than 1.5 billion miles[2].
“Many customers are focused on reducing their net carbon footprint, and as the leading heavy duty engine oil in North America, Shell Rotella can play a significant role,” said Machteld de Haan, vice president, Shell Lubricants Americas. “We are proud to offer a Shell Rotella carbon neutral option for heavy duty engines without compromising engine protection and be a part of the largest carbon neutral program in the lubricants industry.”
Shell aims to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society, however no one solution is going to allow Shell to achieve this target. The transition to a low-carbon energy future will require a range of solutions and Shell Rotella is dedicated to helping drive the future and providing carbon neutral alternatives. To help achieve this, Shell Rotella T6 and Shell Rotella T5 will contribute to Shell’s target to be a net-zero emissions energy business through several factors: avoid emissions, reduce emissions, and offset emissions.
One of the ways Shell plans to avoid emissions is by optimizing efficiency during production and design of their products by using more recycled content in its bottles, where possible. Shell will reduce emissions by a number of avenues, including improved energy efficiency. More than 50 percent of electricity used in Shell Lubricant Blending Plants now comes from renewable sources. Lastly, Shell will offset the remaining CO2e emissions through buying and selling carbon credits from Shell’s global portfolio of nature-based solutions projects, and continued investment in nature-based solutions initiatives.
While measures to avoid and reduce emissions offer the best way to tackle emissions in the long term, until scalable solutions are deployed, carbon offsetting programs provide an immediate solution to balance CO2e emissions. Shell’s global portfolio of nature-based carbon credits[3] will compensate CO2e emissions from the entire lifecycle of these products, including the raw materials, packaging, production, distribution, customer use, and product end of life.
Shell Lubricants will be integrating carbon neutral products into the existing Shell Rotella synthetic and synthetic blend product portfolio without sacrificing engine performance or protection. In North America, Shell Rotella will offset the emissions from the Shell Rotella full synthetic and synthetic blend engine oils including:
- Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic Engine Oil: SAE 0W-40, SAE 5W-40, and SAE 15W-40
- Shell Rotella T5 Synthetic Blend Engine Oil: SAE 10W-30 and SAE 15W-40
Shell Rotella synthetic and synthetic blend engine oils are formulated with Triple Protection Plus technology that delivers protection from a heavy duty product and not only meets, but exceeds API CK-4 performance standards. Through Triple Protection Plus technology, which uniquely combines Triple Protection – advanced additive technology and synthetic base oils, Shell Rotella full synthetic and synthetic blend engine oils helps to deliver excellent equipment protection, long engine life and better fuel economy performance[4].
Throughout 2021, Shell Rotella will be informing customers on the benefits of choosing a carbon neutral product through a variety of activations including a virtual panel discussion in partnership with Advanced Clean Tech News (ACT News) and the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). Further details surrounding the virtual panel discussion will be released closer to the panel date. In addition, the next version of Shell Starship, a hyper-fuel-efficient Class 8 tractor trailer, will be launching later this year to further test lower fuel consumption, reduce CO2 emissions, and continue to deliver on improvement in freight-ton efficiency for on-highway transportation.
- The term “carbon neutral” indicates that Shell has engaged in a transaction where an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent associated with the acquisition and pre-processing raw materials, lubricant production, packaging, distribution, and the subsequent use and end of life treatment of the used materials in relation to the Shell Lubricants products, has been removed from the atmosphere through a nature-based process, or emissions saved through avoided degradation of natural ecosystems.
- Actual emissions from driving are sensitive to underlying assumptions. Full disclaimer is available here.
- Nature-Based Carbon Credit (or ‘Carbon Credit’) represents one metric ton of CO2 avoided or removed from the atmosphere, generated by a Nature-Based Project.
- Compared to SAE 15W-40 heavy duty engine oils.
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