Lubricant Antioxidants Market

In Brief

• Lubricant antioxidants market revenues grew at a CAGR of 2.4% during 2013-2017. Global demand for non-depleting lubricant antioxidants that improve the long-term performance of lubricants and greases continued to surge during this period, creating challenges for manufacturers.
• Lubricant antioxidants market revenues reached US$ 1.6 billion in 2018 on back of growing focus on improving the efficiency and expanding the lifespan of lubricants.
• The lubricant antioxidants market is set to witness 3% y-o-y in 2019 over 2018. The long-term outlook on the market is also bullish, with our estimates suggesting a CAGR of 3.6% between 2018 and 2028.

• East Asia is likely to remain the leading market for lubricant antioxidants, as leading chemical companies and lubricant manufacturers continue to invest heavily in China to capitalize on increasing industrial growth in the country.
• Middle East & Africa (MEA) is expected to emerge as a high-growth market for lubricant antioxidants during the assessment period, with our estimates suggesting a CAGR of 4.8% through 2028.

What are the Key Growth Drivers of Lubricant Antioxidants Market?

• Imposition of emission control regulations and high fuel economy standards has led to higher demand from the automotive industry.
• Lubricant antioxidants play an important role in improving the durability and lifespan of engines by forming a protective layers upon engine parts. As focus on preventive maintenance grows, demand for lubricant antioxidants and other materials has witnessed a steady surge.
• The fortunes of lubricant antioxidants industry are dependent on broader developments in lubricant production – in recent years, global lubricant production has remained steady, creating sizeable opportunities for lubricant antioxidants industry.

What are the Key Challenges in the Lubricant Antioxidants Market?

• Changing regulatory frameworks and environmental legislation implemented for mitigating the consequent effects of lubricant specifications can increase the cost pressure on lubricant antioxidant manufacturers.
• Constantly evolving fuel economy standards and the development cycle of new automotive oils will require constant modifications in lubricant antioxidant specifications to ensure compatibility with new materials.
• Lubricant antioxidants are among the most expensive lubricant additives. High investments required for the application of lubricant antioxidants technology make it pricey for end-users, which in turn, is restricting widespread adoption.
• Steadily declining applications of lubricant antioxidants in specialty oils and fuels is likely to negatively impact the growth of the lubricant antioxidants market in the coming future.

Lubricant Antioxidants Market – Competitive Landscape

• In June 2018, BASF SE – a German chemical company – announced that it has entered a distribution agreement with Chemroy Canada, Inc. – a Canadian distributor of specialty chemicals and raw materials – to handle its portfolio of lubricant additives, including lubricant antioxidants and surfactants in Canada. BASF aims to capitalize on Chemroy’s industry expertise and flexibility to meet customers’ changing needs and expand its distributors’ network in Canada.
• In December 2018, Songwon Industrial Group – a South Korean chemical company – announced that it has introduced its new lubricant antioxidant – SONGNOX® 5057, to expand and add economic value to its existing portfolio of phenolic, aminic, thioester, and phosphite antioxidants, and stabilizers. SONGNOX 5057 is a liquid butylated octylated aminic antioxidant, which can be used to address diverse customer needs in polyurethane applications. The company also declared that the new lubricant antioxidant is developed at its facility in Ulsan, South Korea, and this enables SONGNOX to support customers worldwide, including in Asia, which is a high growth market for lubricant antioxidants.
• In April 2019, Lanxess Aktiengesellschaft – a German specialty chemical company and a leading player in the lubricant antioxidants market – announced that it has introduced a new, organic lubricant additive – Additin RC 3502 – for high-performance automotive engine oils. The company proclaims that the new lubricant additive can deliver anti-wear protection and sustained performance combined with reduced friction in passenger cars.

Leading players in the lubricant antioxidants market include BASF SE, Lubrizol, Chevron Oronite Company (Chevron), Afton Chemical, Infineum (ExxonMobil), Songwon Industrial Group, ENI, Evonik, LANXESS, Jinzhou Kangtai Lubricant Additives, Wuxi South Petroleum Additive, SI Group (acquired by SK Capital), ADEKA Corporation, and OXIRIS Chemicals S. A.

Automotive Industry Drives Demand for Primary Lubricant Antioxidants

Growing emphasis on the importance of antioxidants in lubricants, especially in automotive lubricants, has been contributing to the steadily increasing applications of both primary and secondary variants.

However, primary antioxidants for lubricants, which are also known as radical scavengers, continue to remain sought-after, especially in the automotive industry.

Increasing use of primary antioxidants, such as aminic and phenolic antioxidants, in lubricants is mainly attributed to their improved performance characteristics, such as greater oxidation control and higher additive treat rates than secondary antioxidants.

Primary antioxidants also play an important role in modern automotive lubricants as tightening fuel efficiency regulations and high standards have created a need for improving the performance of lubricants against oxidation.

Thereby, as primary lubricant antioxidants offer multifold greater performance and oxidation control than secondary antioxidants, an upsurge in demand for aminic and phenolic antioxidants is likely to persist in the coming future.

Research Methodology

A robust research methodology used during the course of the Fact.MR report to analyze growth of the global lubricant antioxidants market to provide readers with exclusive and actionable market insights. This study is backed by a two-step research process which is inclusive of various primary and secondary resources.

The information featured in the lubricant antioxidants market report is acquired through in-depth secondary and primary market research on the lubricant antioxidants market. The primary research methodology involves interactions with industry leaders and experts of lubricant antioxidants industry.

Secondary research provides valuable data about the lubricant antioxidants market which is acquired through diverse resources such as trade journals, press releases, company annual reports, paid resources, and other publications relevant to lubricant antioxidants. Qualitative conclusions about the growth of the lubricant antioxidants market can be reached after studying industry-validated information about the lubricant antioxidants market.

Lubricant Antioxidants Market: Segmentation

• Type

  • Primary Antioxidants
    • Aminic
    • Phenolic
  • Secondary Antioxidants
    • Phosphite
    • Thioester
  • Multifunctional antioxidants

• Application

  • Automotive & transportation
    • Gasoline engine oils
    • Diesel engine oils
    • ATF
    • Gear & axle oils
  • Industrial
    • Compressor oils
    • Hydraulic oils
    • Metalworking fluids
    • Turbine oils
  • Speciality & fuels
    • Greases
    • Synthetic base oils
    • Vegetable oils
    • Fuels
  • Others

• Form

  • Solid
  • Liquid

• Region

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa