EV onset leaves lubricant industry facing Kodak’s fate

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Lubricant makers are wary of Eastman Kodak’s demise when it failed to grasp the potential of the digital camera in the 1970s.

LONDON: The US$146 billion lubricants industry is at risk of suffering the same fate as Kodak, thanks to the rise of electric vehicles.

EVs present a new set of challenges to their piston counterparts that typically use 40 different oils. They need a grease that can cool and lubricate the motor, while also protecting the electronics on-board and being compatible with non-metal materials like plastics. There are signs the pressure is already poised to affect companies. Demand for automotive lubricants, which reached about 20 million tons last year, is supposed to be flat for the"foreseeable future” due to the impact of EVs, the growing use of synthetic lubricants and economic pressures, according to research from energy consultant Kline & Company.Other oil majors, who are fighting the effects of the push to de-carbonise on multiple fronts, have also focused on creating new products.

Driven by penetration of EVs in China and Europe, sales volumes in the lubricants market could start to decline as early as 2025, according to Bank of Merrill Lynch analyst Jean-Baptiste Rolland.

 

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