NOK to Exhibit at Automotive Engineering Exposition 2026 Yokohama

Showcasing New Products Supporting Safety, Reliability, and Sustainability in Electric Vehicles

NOK Corporation (Head Office: Shibadaimon, Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, Group Chief Executive Officer: Masao Tsuru; hereinafter referred to as "NOK") today announced its participation in the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2026 Yokohama, to be held at Pacifico Yokohama (Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture) from Wednesday, May 27 to Friday, May 29, 2026. NOK will present five exhibits — four newly developed products and a new variant of its existing pressure relief valve series — developed to enhance safety, reliability, and environmental performance in the automotive sector, with a particular focus on electric vehicles (EVs). The exhibits cover a range of technologies supporting the advance of vehicle electrification, including electromagnetic noise countermeasures, battery pack safety, PFAS regulatory compliance, lubrication performance, and design and manufacturing efficiency.

In line with its commitment to "Essential Core Manufacturing — The manufacture of pivotal products that shape society," NOK will use the exposition to demonstrate how its proprietary technologies contribute to a safe and comfortable future for mobility.

Shaft-End Grounding Breather Brush(Concept Exhibit/New Product)

Designed to make contact with the shaft end face of EV drive motors, this conductive brush addresses a persistent challenge in EV powertrains: electromagnetic noise generated by inverter switching, which can cause bearing electrolytic corrosion and radio frequency interference. Conventional solutions required multiple separate components, including conductive brushes, dust and waterproof covers, seals, and ventilation membranes, to manage these issues. This new product consolidates all three functions, conductivity, dust and water resistance, and ventilation, into a single component, with press-fit installation eliminating the need for fixing bolts.
The result is a more streamlined solution that not only tackles electrolytic corrosion and noise but also reduces component count for lower weight and processing costs, while the elimination of a separate cover saves space and increases flexibility in surrounding layout design.

Pressure Relief Valve: Snap-Fit Type (New Variant)

Fitted to EV battery cases, this component is designed to safely vent gas to the outside in the event of thermal runaway generating large volumes of gas inside the battery. Battery packs face a critical dual challenge: maintaining a sealed structure that ensures waterproof and dustproof performance under normal conditions, while safely releasing gas during abnormal events to prevent the rise in internal pressure that can lead to fire or rupture.
This new snap-fit variant expands the pressure relief valve series launched in 2024, offering a bolt-free installation that reduces component count. The outer rubber section serves the dual function of fixing and sealing in a single element. NOK's proprietary anti-corrosion technology has also been applied to the outer rubber section, enhancing corrosion resistance in salt water environments by using cross-sectional geometry to inhibit the progression of corrosion.

PFAS-Free Brake Shim (Concept Exhibit/New Product)

As PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) regulations tighten globally, the automotive industry is under increasing pressure to move away from the fluorine-based coating agents commonly used in low-friction brake shims. NOK has responded by developing a brake shim with a low-friction coating that contains no PFAS, leveraging its proprietary materials technology to achieve low-friction performance using non-fluorine materials.
The result maintains performance equivalent to that of conventional products, helping suppress brake squeal while meeting evolving environmental regulations. The product is supplied in coil form for customers to process into the required shim shape on their end.

Rubber-Coated Metal Gasket Cover (Concept Exhibit/New Product)

This component integrates a case cover and gasket into a single unit, addressing a longstanding inefficiency in conventional designs where the two have always been separate parts, adding to component count and assembly labor. Drawing on NOK's end-to-end capability from material selection through press die processing, the integrated design reduces component count, lowers assembly labor, and streamlines the manufacturing process.
While developed with the mobility sector in mind, the product is also intended for broad application across electronic and industrial equipment, as well as any cover component where waterproof and dustproof performance is required.

Next-Generation PAO Grease (New Product)

Conventional PAO greases have required different grades to be selected according to specific operating conditions, with low-temperature performance and heat resistance typically treated as a trade-off. NOK has developed a next-generation PAO grease that breaks this compromise, maintaining low-temperature performance equivalent to conventional low-temperature-optimized products while improving heat resistance by approximately 40%, through the use of a specially formulated base oil.
By suppressing viscosity changes across a wide temperature range, the grease resists solidification in cold conditions and evaporation at high temperatures, contributing to reduced wear and extended component life. Its broad operating range also means fewer grease grades are needed across a fleet or production line. Applicable uses include sunroof gears and in-vehicle actuator gears in automotive applications.
*PAO grease: A lubricant produced through chemical synthesis. PAO (polyalphaolefin) is a synthetic hydrocarbon free of impurities such as sulfur or nitrogen, with a high viscosity index and stable performance across a wide temperature range.

Automotive Engineering Exposition 2026 Yokohama: NOK Exhibit Details

• Organizer: Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE)
• Dates: Wednesday, May 27 - Friday, May 29, 2026, 10:00-17:00
• Venue: Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall (1-1-1 Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture)
• NOK Booth Number: No. 382
• Access: Approx. 3 minutes' walk from Minatomirai Station (Minatomirai Line) / Approx. 12 minutes' walk from Sakuragicho Station (JR Yokohama Line / Yokohama City Subway Blue Line)
• Exposition URL: https://aee.expo-info.jsae.or.jp/en/
• NOK Exhibition Page: https://products.nokgrp.com/expo_hitokuru-yokohama2026.html