What is PC-12?

Title: Shell Rotella PC-12 Under the Hood

Duration: 3:49

Description: The first in a video series about the new Proposed Category 12, so inform followers of the development of the new oils.
This series will accompany information found on whatisPC12.com.

PC-12 Under the Hood - video 1 Transcript

[Bright, uplifting  music plays]

[Animated sequence]

[Logo for Shell Rotella appears with “presents” then a truck icon appears on a yellow background with a text box underneath]

[Text displays]

PC-12 UNDER THE HOOD video series

[Shell music continues]

[Video Footage]

Series of shots of two employees making coffee in a break room and chatting.The two women sit across from one another.

- [Julie] Thanks for joining me today, Karin.

- [Karin] Good to see you, Julie.

- [Julie] So I wanted to talk about the Proposed Category 12, or a PC-12, engine oil category that was endorsed by the API in 2022. This will be the new engine oil category that will be rolled out in 2027 and replace the current CK-4 and FA-4 categories that are in the market today.

[Title]

Julie Wright

Shell Rotella Brand Manager

- [Karin] That's right.

- [Julie] So as the Chairperson of the API's New Category Development Team, can you tell me a little bit about what that team does?

- [Karin] NCDT is a subcommittee that was convened specifically for the purpose of developing the new diesel engine oil service category. So we are working together with all interest parties in the industry to be able to identify performance requirements, develop tests, and launch the new category.

[Title]

Karin Haumann

OEM Technical Services Manager

Chairperson, API New Category Development Team 

- [Julie] Before we go any further, can you explain to me why there's a need for a new engine oil category?

- [Karin] Sure, you mentioned 2022. That's when the EPA introduced their new proposed rule that takes effect in 2027, so that's really what's driving our timeline. The engine manufacturers have new NOx and emission targets that they have to meet, and they're working hard over these five years to be able to improve their hardware and improve their performance.

[Video Footage]

A low-angle shot of a heavy duty truck.

[Text Display]

New standard requires:

• 75% reduction on Nitrous Oxide (NOx) emissions
• 50% reduction in Particulate Matter (PM)

- [Karin continues] With that comes a need for us to be able to increase the performance of the oil so that they can work hand in hand and that we help them to meet those targets.

- [Julie] So I've been getting a lot of questions about backwards compatibility, and I know that this new engine oil spec is being developed for new engines. But what about those older engines that are on the road today? Can you talk a little bit about that?

- [Karin] That's a good question. It's at the top of a lot of people's minds. There's a lot of focus on 2027 and the new engines and the new oil and where does that leave everybody else. Well, we are working very hard to make sure that we are developing a new category for all of the engines on the road.

 

[Video footage]]

Closeup of oil pouring..

[Text Display]

The PC-12a subcategory will continue to be backwards compatible, just like CK-4 is today.

- [Karin continues] This is intended to replace CK-4, and so we're working to develop a category that meets the needs of the new engines along with all of the engines that are on the roads today.

- [Julie] Great news. So you talked about 2022 regulations, that's when these were passed, but the new engine oil category is not gonna be rolled out until 2027. So what happens in the meantime there?

- [Karin] The EPA rule was proposed in 2022, takes effect in 2027, and that's to give everybody enough time to be able to prepare.

[Text Display]

API Service Category Development Phases

[Video Footage]

Shots of heavy duty trucks on highways and container yards..

[Text Display]

Phase 1: Category Request And Evaluation

• Step 1 Sponsor Requests New Category
• Step 2 New Category Evaluation Team (NCET) evaluates the need for a new category
• Step 3 Recommendation on a New API Diesel Engine Oil Service Category
• Step 4 DEOAP Affirms NCET Recommendation to API Lubricants Group
• Step 5 New Category Development Team (NCDT) is formed

 

- [Karin continues] So that's what we're doing now. It's a long process for developing a new category. It's a very well-prescribed process by API, so we're working through those steps right now.

[Video Footage]

Shots of heavy duty trucks on highways.

{Text Display]

Phase 2: Category Development

●     Step 1 Form New Category Development Team (NCDT)

●     Step 2 API Diesel Engine Oil Service Category

●     Step 3 API Lubricants Group for Formal Ballot

- [Karin continues] We're working on making sure that we define all of the performance requirements, and we're getting ready to launch into the exciting phase, where we're gonna be testing the new candidate oils and make sure that we have the same performance and protection that you've come to expect.

[Video Footage]

Aerial view of a heavy duty truck moving into a parking space.

[Text Display]

Phase 3: Category Implementation

• A Positive Ballot or
• A Negative Ballot

- [Julie] How does this impact Shell Rotella currently and then in the future?

- [Karin] You won't see changes currently. So we're not changing our Rotella products today, but we are working hard to meet the 2027 launch for the first licensing for the new oils. So you can start to see those oils come into the market in 2027.

- [Julie] Lots of PC-12 developments and news and can't wait to hear more.

- [Karin] Yeah, more to come, we'll keep you posted.

- [Julie] All right, great, thank you for meeting with me.

- [Karin] You're welcome.

[Text Display]

To get updates and learn more visit

whatisPC12.com

[music ends]

[Shell pecten animation]

[Shell mnemonic]

Title: Shell Rotella PC-12 Under the Hood - Video 2

Duration: 4:07

Description: The second in a video series about the new Proposed Category 12, to inform followers of the development of the new oils. This series will accompany information found on whatisPC12.com.

[Bright, uplifting music plays]

[Animated sequence]

Logo for Shell Rotella appears with “presents” then a truck icon appears on a yellow background with a text box underneath.

[Text displays]

PC-12 UNDER THE HOOD video series

[Shell music continues]

[Video Footage]

A man walks through a Shell office space with coffee in his hand, smiling. The man sits in a chair across from a woman as they greet each other.

[Emily]

Hi, Jason.

[Jason]

Hello, Emily.

[Title appears with gray text on white background at the bottom of the screen]

Emily Hammer

Commercial Road Sector Manager

[Emily]

Thanks for meeting with me today to talk about some of the more technical aspects of Proposed Category 12 or, PC-12. To start us off, can you tell us a little bit about your role and what does PC-12 have to do with it?

[Title appears with gray text on white background at the bottom of the screen]

Jason Brown

General Manager, Lubricants Technology

[Jason]

First, Emily, thanks for having me today, and I welcome any opportunity to talk about Shell Lubricants, PC-12, and just our technology program in general. The goal of my team is to develop engine oils for the next category or next generation of heavy-duty needs. Specifically, the next category is PC-12, and that's what the team is working on right now is prototype oils that are gonna meet that category going forward.

[Emily] - And how often do new category updates happen, and what is the purpose?

[Jason] - These new category changes don't come around all the time. They tend to average about maybe every nine or 10 years. So the last category is CK-4, what was PC-11, that launched in 2016, and the next category will come around in January 1st of 2027. That'll be PC-12. It is quite a big endeavor for the industry when we do these things, but it's quite an important one to drive changes in the hardware, new emissions legislation, and all of these aspects that are designed to have improvements for the heavy-duty industry.

[Emily] - What are some of the benefits that we can expect from these new oils?

[Jason] - So the benefits of PC-12, or Proposed Category 12, really come down to a couple of things. First off, increased access to fuel economy. 

[Video Footage]

Close up angle on oil pouring from a Shell Rotella container

[Jason] - The new category will have a wider range of viscosity, so it will reach a lower range, lower viscosity, at the end of the day, and access to those lower range viscosities will improve or increase the chances of customers to have better fuel efficiency for their engines moving forward. We will also see lower phosphorus. That will have a direct impact on after treatment devices. 

[Yellow screen appears with footage of an engine block on the right and gray text on the left that reads:]

[Text Display]

Benefits:

Lower viscosity

Lower phosphorus

Oxidation improvements

[Jason] - By reducing phosphorus, that should help extend the life of DPFs. The last and probably most critical aspect is the improvements to oxidation, specifically how that affects our customers, is extending the oil drain interval. 

[Video Footage]

Two Shell Rotella bottles sit in the foreground while a mechanic changes oil under a vehicle in the background. Close up as oil is poured into a funnel under the hood of a vehicle.

[Jason] - So the longer the oil can last in the engine, the longer that customers can use it, and hence the longer they can go before they have to have another oil drain.

[Emily] - And I've heard you talk a lot about how this is gonna benefit the newer engines coming to the market, but how does this impact the current trucks on the road today? How are we thinking about backwards compatibility for those trucks?

[Jason] - This is actually a very, very important aspect of new categories. There are trucks that are still gonna be on the road today that will likely use or see these oils and they need to run just as well. 

[Video Footage]

An eighteen-wheeler tanker truck drives down a busy freeway. A box truck and trailer drives down another freeway. 

[Jason] - So we're working with customers in different applications to give them access to our prototype technologies so that we can be sure that the oils that we are designing for the next generation are also completely fit for purpose for the trucks that are on the road at this moment.

[Emily] - So, Jason, what do we know about the specs for these new oils? Where are we in the development process?

[Jason] - In terms of the process, we are right in the heart of the development program. 

[Yellow screen appears with footage of eighteen-wheelers on a highway, parking in a lot, and gray text on the right that reads:]

[Text Display]

Phase 2: Category development

Step 1 Form New Category Development Team (NCDT)

Step 2 Design API diesel engine oil service category

Step 3 API Lubricants group meets for formal ballot

[Jason] - The next category has already had its specs designed and set out. There's a part of the API called the New Category Development Team, or the NCDT, led by Karin Haumann here at Shell. That team is responsible for setting out the new specs, and those new specs are focused on increasing the range of fuel economy by lowering the viscosity of the overall category, lowering the phosphorus, which has an effect on, of course, the aftertreatment devices, which should improve after treatment device longevity, and then focusing on the improvements for oxidation, which can benefit oil drain and fuel in the end. So all of those specifications have already been set. Now it's just for all of us oil marketers to go and design the oils that meet those specifications when they launch on January 1st, 2027.

[Emily] - Wow. A lot of exciting things to come, I'm sure. Thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge today. It's a lot for us to learn about PC-12 and what's to come next, so thank you very much.

[Jason] - And thank you, Emily, for having me. I really do appreciate the chance to come speak about PC-12. So thanks again for the time.

[Yellow screen animates in with gray text that reads:]

To get updates and learn more visit whatisPC12.com 

[music ends]

[Shell pecten animation]

[Shell mnemonic]

Title: Shell Rotella PC-12 Under the Hood

Duration: 3:44 minutes

Description: The next video in a series about the Proposed Category 12, to inform followers of the development of the new oils.This series will accompany information found on whatisPC12.com.

[Bright, uplifting  music plays]

 

[Animated sequence]

[Logo for Shell Rotella appears with “presents” then a truck icon appears on a yellow background with a text box underneath]

 

[Text displays]

PC-12 UNDER THE HOOD video series

[Shell music continues]

 

[Video Footage]

Shot of TMC 26 annual meeting sign at event. TMC 26 Annual meeting sign with directions to Media/Press Room. 

 

[Text Display]

PC-12: Setting the new standard in heavy-duty lubricants

A discussion with Karin Haumann (Shell), Bill O’Ryan (American Petroleum Institute) and Heather DeBaun (Traton R&D) Moderated by Kevin Linger (Fleet Equipment)

 

[Video Footage]

Heather DeBaun, Bill O’Ryan and Karin Haumann sit left to right on a panel.

 

[Bill O’Ryan]

We have cleared all of the preliminary hurdles.

 

 

[Title]

Bill O’Ryan

 

Director, Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System

 

American Petroleum Institute

 

[Bill O’Ryan]

The technology demonstration period has ended, all of the ballots through ASTM and API Lubricants Group have all passed.

 

[Animated sequence]

Two donuts appear side by side. The one on the left reads API Service CL-4 on top and SAE 15W-40 inside the hole.  The one on the left reads API Service FB-4 and SAE 10W-30 inside the hole.  The registered trademark symbol appears below each donut.

 

[Bill O’Ryan]

The standards for API service category CL-4 and FB-4, have passed and are now going to be implemented into the API 1509 engine oil standard.

 

[Text Display]

First licensing Jan. 1, 2027 over an image of an aerial shot of a highway.

 

[Bill O’Ryan]

We’re ready for first licensing as we sit through a 1-year mandatory API waiting period to allow all of the oil marketers and additive companies to have time to develop their products.

 

[Text display]

Could potential EPA changes impact the development of PC-12?

 

[Title]

Karin Haumann

OEM Technical Services Manager

Shell

 

[Karin Haumann]

We’re improving the oil for the engine manufacturers and for the customers so that they get better performance and that is going to continue. While some of that might be driven by regulatory targets, it’s not driving the PC-12 process.

 

[Text display]

Could EPA changes impact any adoption of PC-12?

 

[Title]

Heather DeBaun

Vehicle Fluids Technical Specialist

Traton R&D

 

 

[Heather DeBaun]

PC-12 category is still a relevant category. It is beneficial technically for modern engines. It will offer improvements

 

[Text display]

 Improvements

 

●        Durability

●        Oxidation control

●        Wear protection

 

[Video Footage]

A truck and passenger cars travel on a bridge over a river.

 

[Heather DeBaun]

in areas of durability, oxidation control, wear protection, and so those improvements will be important for today’s engines and tomorrow’s engines.

 

[Text Display]

How is Shell preparing its products for this new specification?

 

[Karin Haumann]

We’re going through the product development and testing phase. We start with identifying the chemistries and the base oils and then doing the lab testing and the engine testing.

 

[Text Display]

Field testing*

>200 test units, 50 specifically off-road equipment

 

> 8 million miles on-road

 

> 12,000 hours off-road

*Disclaimer: Data recorded March 2026

[Video Footage]

A truck and passenger vehicles travel on a highway.

 

[Karin Haumann]

In field trials, we’ve accumulated 8 million miles to date on the road in engines on the new oils and over 12,000 hours on the off highway side. We test newer equipment, we test 20-year-old equipment because backward compatibility is important just to make sure that the performance of the oil is what we expect it to be when we release the final products.

 

*Disclaimer: Data recorded March 2026

[Text Display]

How does the industry ensure there is sufficient hardware for testing these engine oils?

 

[Karin Haumann]

We've done a lot of work to establish that all the tests that we’re carrying over have enough hardware and OEM support through 2040. There were a couple of tests that were not gonna remain available and so we worked hard to create an equivalent replacement.

 

[Video Footage]

Oil being poured out of a bottle.

[Karin Haumann]

Oil thickening from, from soot is a good example of that.

 

[Karin Haumann]

There are some performance targets that we have in PC-12 that will benefit older engines.

 

[Text Display]

Benefits from the upgrade will include:

●        Greater heat tolerance/Oil drain interval extension

●        New wear test ensuring wear protection

●        Improved aftertreatment performance

●        Lower viscosities = Improved fuel economy

 

[Video Footage]

A truck pulling a container passes containers parked on a lot.

 

[Karin Haumann]

Thermal protection or oxidative stability, the wear protection. Some of the benefits that the new oil has will apply to older engines also like if a fleet wanted to look at extending their oil drain intervals, oil oxidation is important to that.

 

[Text Display]

What should fleets be looking for on packaging specifications?

 

[Bill O’Ryan]

You want to look for

 

[Animated sequence]

Two donuts reappear side by side. The one on the left reads API Service CL-4 on top and SAE 15W-40 inside the hole.  The one on the left reads API Service FB-4 and SAE 10W-30 inside the hole.  The registered trademark symbol appears below each donut.

 

[Bill O’Ryan]

the certification marks, the API service symbols, the donuts for the newest categories.

 

[Text Display]

How do you evaluate engine oils for PC-12 and beyond? How does that compare to what API is testing?

 

[Heather DeBaun]

We do a variety of engine testing,

 

[Video Footage]

A montage of shots of a yellow engine, an oil pour and a truck traveling on a highway.

 

[Heather DeBaun]

field testing to confirm, drain intervals to make sure that they run like we expect and, uh, look at durability, look at wear.

 

[Text Display]

What do engine manufacturers look for with the PC-12 new engine oil category ?

 

 

[Heather DeBaun]

We were looking for,

 

[Video Footage]

A montage of shots of two trucks traveling through the desert, an oil pour and trucks and vehicles traveling down a desert highway.

 

[Heather DeBaun]

improved oxidation performance. We added some, um, material for elastomer compatibility, improvements in wear, and then replacing, hardware that would become obsolete for the category.

 

 

 

[Text Display]

To get updates and learn more visit

whatisPC12.com

 

[Music ends]

 

[Shell pecten animation]

[Shell mnemonic]