Revolution in a drum: High-performance hydraulic fluid ignites race for high efficiency in construction equipment

The race to attain the highest possible level of efficiency currently dominates in grabbing the attention of almost the entire construction equipment sector. So it is hardly surprising that this topic also dominated discussions at the recent bauma trade fair in Munich. Many of the efficiency-focused bauma visitors sought out the DYNAVIS® stand to learn more.

The reason? DYNAVIS® is reporting new triumphs in achieving higher levels of efficiency that are occurring worldwide. In just five years, over eight well-known hydraulic fluid manufacturers in Germany, France, the United States, India, and other countries have adopted this revolutionary new technology. DYNAVIS® technology is an enabler – these forward-looking hydraulic fluid formulators can now offer their customers an efficiency-optimized hydraulic fluid—and label it accordingly.


Hydraulic fluids that have been optimized using DYNAVIS® technology retain their viscosity, even at high operating temperatures. They achieve greater efficiency by ensuring that the hydraulic system remains agile and responsive. Here’s why: typically, when construction equipment heats up, conventional hydraulic fluids require that more hydraulic power be sent to the tool handle to maintain the same level of pace and productivity as achieved at lower temperatures. In short, the operator must step on the accelerator more frequently.

This doesn’t occur with hydraulic fluids formulated to DYNAVIS™ technology standards. Hydraulic fluids that conform to DYNAVIS® technology standards retain system power through maintenance of viscosity in the face of higher temperatures, which typically “thin” conventional fluids.

Depending on the severity of the conditions in which construction equipment is used, replacing conventional hydraulic fluid with fluid formulated to DYNAVIS® technology standards tends to save around 5% to 10% in fuel. Under extreme conditions, savings of as much as 30% have been measured.

Standing behind the technology and the DYNAVIS® brand is the Oil Additives business of Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH, a segment of Evonik Industries from Germany, a world leader in specialty chemicals.

Recently, Evonik’s DYNAVIS® Technology Team has enjoyed two recent successes in its efforts to expand the use of this fuel-saving and productivity-enhancing technology. At the opening of the bauma trade fair, DYNAVIS® technology Marketing and Branding Director Oliver Eyrisch announced the acquisition of the latest DYNAVIS® technology licensee, India’s Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. With a workforce of 11,000, Bharat is India’s second largest energy giant. Number one is Indian Oil Corporation, which signed on as a DYNAVIS® technology licensee months earlier.

Documentation of the effectiveness of DYNAVIS® technology is the result of extensive field testing. Hydraulic equipment owners and operators from Italy, Belgium, China, Germany, and the Baltic countries have been acquired as test partners. The oil in their hydraulic construction equipment — mostly diggers, but also a screening machine in one case—was changed to a DYNAVIS® technology fluid and thoroughly tested, sometimes over many months. At the end of the testing, the energy savings were calculated and published.

The results impressed not only the owners and operators, but also a number of oil manufacturers, who now expressed an interest in becoming a DYNAVIS® technology licensee. Becoming a DYNAVIS® technology licensee provides access to a diverse range of marketing and communication tools, software solutions and advertising material that enable them to make a still slumbering market sit up and take notice, as well as to gain new market share and generate higher sales with the new fluid.

CONCLUSION: Analysts at Evonik see the prospects for growth in the adoption of DYNAVIS® technology continuing to be quite good, as the majority of construction machinery used worldwide still runs on conventional fluids, the viscosity of which has not been optimized.