#frictionreduction

Lubricant Additives Market Overview

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The increasing public interest in sustainable products has been a driving force behind the growing demand for Lubricant Additives. This trend aligns with the significant traction seen in bio-based lubricant additives, propelled by environmental concerns and regulatory pressures surrounding emission norms. These additives, derived from renewable resources, offer eco-friendly and sustainable solutions, reducing dependency on traditional petroleum-based additives. They exhibit improved biodegradability, lower toxicity, and enhanced lubrication performance. Manufacturers are investing in research to develop innovative bio-based additives that meet stringent performance requirements across various applications, from automotive to industrial lubricants. The increasing adoption of bio-lubricants is driven by a growing emphasis on sustainability and a push for greener alternatives across industries.

Additionally, there’s a growing demand for lubricant additives that offer multifunctional benefits beyond basic lubrication. Advanced functional additives are designed to cater to specific applications and address evolving performance requirements such as anti-wear, extreme pressure protection, friction reduction, and viscosity control. Manufacturers are focusing on developing additives with improved thermal stability, oxidation resistance, and compatibility with modern base oils. These additives are crucial for meeting the demands of high-performance engines, machinery, and equipment in diverse industries like automotive, aerospace, marine, and manufacturing. The trend is shifting towards tailored additives that offer enhanced performance under extreme operating conditions, prolonging equipment lifespan and reducing maintenance costs.

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COVID-19 Impact

COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted the lubricant additives market on a global level, as due to restrictions and lockdown imposed by governments all across the globe, the productivity went down of various manufacturing sectors like metalworking, fabricating oil & gas, chemicals, consumer goods, etc. But the automobile sector was majorly hit, as there was shutting down of large part of the auto industry and its many suppliers around the world. Hence due to this, vehicle usage, as well as vehicle sales, took a downfall. And as lubricants additives are used mainly in heavy-duty and passenger vehicle lubricants, so with the decline in vehicle production the demand for lubricant additives especially the passenger vehicle lubricant in the automotive segment also declined. As per the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, in 2020 there was a 16% global decline in vehicles production i.e., less than 78 million vehicles, with all major producing regions like the U.S, Brazil, Germany having a sharp decline of 11% to 44% and Europe saw a drop of 21% on average.

Market Snapshot:-

Report Coverage

The report: “Lubricant Additive Market — Forecast (2024–2030)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Lubricant Additive Industry.

By Product Type — Hydraulic Oil, Gear Oil, Engine Oil, Transmission Oil, Compressor Oil (Air Compressor Oil, Gas Compressor Oil, Refrigerator Compressor Oil)

By Additive Type — Anti-Oxidants, Anti-Wear, Viscosity Improvers, Corrosion Inhibitors, Detergents, Dispersants, Others

By Application — Heavy Duty engine, Metal Working Fluids, Industrial Machinery, Others

By End-user-industry — Construction (Draglines, Crane, Bulldozer, Dump Trucks, Others), Automotive (Passenger Vehicles, Heavy Vehicles, Light Vehicles, Others), Agriculture (Tractors, Harvester, Balers, Harrows, Others), Food & Beverages, Energy (Wind Turbine, Solar Plant, Hydropower plant) Manufacturing, Others By Geography — North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East, Africa)

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Key Takeaways

Bio-lubricants are becoming a suitable replacement for petroleum-based lubricants as they provide better lubricity, high flashpoint, high viscosity index. And as bio-based lubricants are derived from bio-based raw material, so they are environmentally friendly.

Asia-Pacific region dominates the Lubricant Additive Market, industrial and automotive sector in countries like China, India, Japan is rapidly advancing. The region has become a global manufacturing and commercial hub where several major companies are planning to invest to expand their global image

The development of new and efficient lubricating technology like Matched Molecular Chemistry, which is more efficient, requires less maintenance and water cooling for industrial application has created significant growth opportunities for the lubricant additive industry

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Lubricant Additive Market Segment Analysis — By Product Type

Engine oil held the largest share in the Lubricant Additive Market in 2023, with a share of over 30%. As it helps to preserve engine performance, reduce wear and tear of machinery, provide prolonged life to it with consistent use, therefore it is used for all different kinds of machinery and engines. They are also used in heavy industrial equipment such as automobiles or construction equipment. For instance, In August 2023, China implemented robust measures to address its property market crisis, including the relaxation of mortgage policies and the initiation of guidelines for affordable housing construction. Hence such demand for affordable housing and an increase in infrastructure projects will drive construction in the country, due to which demand for engine oil used in heavy equipment like cranes and scrapers used in the construction sector will also increase.

Lubricant Additives Market Segment Analysis — By Additive Type

Viscosity index improvers held the largest share in the lubricant additives market in 2023, with a share of over 35%. Viscosity improver is majorly used to enhance the performance of the engine as it improves the performance of lubricant at high and low temperatures. As they are made of a polymeric molecule, so they are sensitive to changes in temperature i.e., the molecular chain contracts at low temperature and relax at high temperature. The automotive industry is the main user of this additive. In 2022, motor vehicle production in the U.S increased up to 9.8%. And, as per the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, New motorcycle registrations in five of the largest European markets i.e. France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) reached 873,985 units during the first nine months of 2023. This represents an increase of approximately 11.8% compared to the same period in 2022. As the production of two-wheeler and motor vehicles are increasing in the automotive sector in these regions, so demand for viscosity index improvers which is used in various automobile oils like engine oil, gear oil, hydraulic oil, transmission oil, etc. will also increase.

Lubricant Additive Market Segment Analysis — By Application

Heavy-Duty Engine held the largest share in the Lubricant Additive Market in 2023, with a share of around 40%. The lubricant for the heavy-duty engine is mainly used in heavy and off-road equipment like diesel trucks, bulldozers, Graders, etc. And it provides certain benefits like enhancing fuel economy, increase in engine life, minimizing downtime for equipment and vehicle, etc. As the equipment is used mainly in construction projects so their selection depends upon the work and economy of the project. For instance, in 2022, construction projects surged notably in the U.S., driven by policies like the IIJA and CHIPS Act, notably boosting facilities such as semiconductor factories and automobile assembly plants. Hence, with the increase in such construction projects the demand for lubricants used in heavy-duty equipment like a bulldozer, excavators will also increase.

Lubricant Additive Market Segment Analysis — By End User

The automotive segment held the largest share in the Lubricant Additive Market in 2023, with a share of over 45%. Lubricant additives are used in an automobile to clean, cool, prevent metal parts from corrosion and rust. Lubricants like engine oil are used to enhance fuel efficiency and performance of the engine in automobiles and gear oil is used in automobile gearbox to protect gear parts from high mechanical pressure. Hence with the rapid development in the automotive sector and increase in production of vehicles in major regions, the demand for gear and engine oil will also increase as it has high applicability in the automotive sector. For instance, as per the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, the global production volume of vehicles increased to 61 million in 2022 from 57 million, the previous year. As per European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the production of passenger cars in the EU increased by 8.3% in 2022.

Lubricant Additive Market Segment Analysis — By Geography

Asia-Pacific held the largest share in the lubricant additives market in 2023, with a share of over 35%. It is due to factors such as rising economies and an increase in investments in various industrial sectors. As per the Indian Brand and Equity Foundation, the automobile industry attracted Foreign Direct Investment equity inflow (FDI) worth US$34.74 billion between April 2000-March 2023, accounting for 5.45% of the total equity FDI during the period. As per the 2022 report of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association on global vehicle production, China produces 34.1% of 68.5 million cars manufactured worldwide followed by Europe 19.4%. And as per China Electronic Information Industry Development, the country is expected to spend US$1.4 trillion on new infrastructure projects between 2020–2025, including investments in renewable energy and residential buildings. Hence as the construction and automobile sector in China and India and the automobile sector in Japan & Korea are rapidly developing, so this has led to an increase in demand for advanced lubrication in these sectors in the Asia Pacific region.

Lubricant Additive Market Drivers

Changes in Automobile Engines Technology

Modern engines in terms of reliability and efficiency depend directly on the effectiveness of the lubricating system. lubrication is responsible for cooling internal parts of the engine which are acting relative to each other creating friction and heat which results in overheating. With the advancement in passenger car engine technology like Gasoline Direct Injection & Turbocharge Gasoline Direct Injection, there have been some advancements in lubricant standards too. For instance, in 2022, the evaluation commenced for the prospective ILSAC GF-7 standard, intended to supersede GF-6. The proposed improvements span crucial engine tests, aiming to adapt to evolving engine technologies, address component availability concerns, and align with potential EPA/CARB regulations. Hence such implementation will increase demand for lower viscosity index improvers lubricants as they are used in all vehicles and efficiently reduce engine friction.

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Nation’s effort for Achieving Fuel economy

For improving vehicle efficiency and transition to low carbon vehicles, various initiative has been launched in nations globally focusing on all automobile sectors like light-duty vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, buses, motorcycles, trucks, etc. For instance, The Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) promotes fuel efficiency in cars and light duty vans, through the adoption of the cost-effective fuel efficiency technologies. These fuel efficiency gains would save 33Gt of CO2 by 2050 and $2 trillion by 2025, money which could be used to support the transition to electric vehicles. Hence such initiative will increase the demand for efficient lubricants like bio-based and nanotube-based lubricants that can be used in new vehicles to achieve low engine friction and fuel economy.

Lubricant Additive Market Challenge

Growing demand for E-Vehicles

Due to rising environmental concerns and growing technological advancements consumers have started shifting their demand from fuel combustion vehicles to electric hybrid vehicles. Various automotive plants for e-vehicles are being set up in countries. For instance, as per European Automobile Manufacturing Association, in 2022, the share of electric vehicles in new car registrations increased in almost all countries compared with the previous year. The highest shares were found in Norway (89%), Sweden (58%) and Iceland (56%). And as per the International Energy Agency, EV sales are expected to continue strongly through 2023. Over 2.3 million electric cars were sold in the first quarter, about 25% more than in the same period last year. We currently expect to see 14 million in sales by the end of 2023. Hence such an increase in demand and production of e-vehicles can ban petrol and diesel vehicles which are the main consumers of lubricant, thereby negatively impacting the lubricant additive industry.

Lubricant Additive Industry Outlook

The companies to develop a strong regional presence and strengthen their market position, continuously engage in mergers and acquisitions. Some of the major players in this market are as follows:

BASF SE

Croda International PLC

Evonik Industries AG

The Lubrizol Corporation

Afton Chemical Corporation

Infineum International Limited

BRB International

Chevron Oronite Company

LANXESS

Tianhe Chemicals Group

Recent Developments

In November 2023, IMCD China’s acquisition of Guangzhou RBD Chemical, a specialist in lubricant additives, signaled a significant stride in the Chinese industrial landscape. This strategic move fortified IMCD’s position, leveraging RBD’s extensive 20-year expertise in South China’s lubricants market. The acquisition, expected to close in Q1 2024, promises a transformative collaboration, enriching IMCD’s foothold in the lubricant additives sector.

In November 2023, Trecora LLC’s acquisition of Chemtrade’s Lubricant Additives Business expanded its specialty chemical division, enhancing its portfolio and meeting dynamic lubricant demands. This strategic move highlighted industry collaboration, emphasizing market adaptability and innovation.

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