■ To implement the Green Balance strategy by expanding eco-friendly products such as developing lubricants for EV and HEV
■ To launch a new eco-friendly lubricant with excellent wear resistance, fuel efficiency, and emission reduction in the second half of this year
■ CEO Jee Dong-seob: “We will lead the creation of environmental SV by establishing the ecosystem for eco-friendly lubricant oils through strong innovation”

SK Lubricants (CEO Jee Dong-seob, http://www.sklubricants.com) is expanding its eco-friendly lubricant business to create social value in the environmental field. This means that SK Innovation will actively implement the company-wide Green Balance strategy (a strategy to increase social value in the environmental sector) through strong innovation.

To this end, SK Lubricants said that it will greatly expand its eco-friendly lubricant business by developing and supplying lubricants optimized for electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in preparation for the upcoming era of eco-friendly vehicles.

With recently tightened global environmental regulations, an increasing number of eco-friendly vehicles are newly introduced. In this market environment, SK Lubricants aims to lead the EV lubricant market by developing EV lubricant products and entering the market early. The global EV lubricant market is expected to grow at more than 24% annually by 2030.

EV lubricants, which quickly cool the heat of the battery, motor, and peripheral gear and cut unnecessary electricity inside the vehicle to reduce energy loss and wear, are required to have different performance than existing lubricants.

SK Lubricants has been supplying lubricating oils to renowned automakers since 2017. The company plans to actively increase sales of EV lubricants by developing customized EV lubricants in collaboration with many automakers around the world and commercializing them from 2020.

SK Lubricants also plans to enter the global market by completing the development of lubricant products suitable for hybrid cars this year based on the differentiated technology of the company with the No. 1 market share in the global Group III base oil market in an effort to target the hybrid vehicle lubricant market.

Hybrid vehicles require high-performance lubricants that can provide lubricating oils to the engine quickly and smoothly and minimize the friction and wear of the engine even at low temperatures because engine rotation drastically changes as the engine is repeatedly turned on and off, and therefore, the engine’s internal temperature is lower than that of the internal combustion engine.

In addition, SK Lubricants will introduce a new low viscosity lubricant, an eco-friendly product with improved performance, such as wear resistance, in the second half of this year. This product does not harden at low temperatures and has high fluidity, so it can reduce friction and wear of the engine along with eco-friendly characteristics such as improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Market research firm Kline & Company predicted that the demand for low-viscosity lubricants*, such as 0W, which generate fewer pollutants, will increase from 51% in 2017 to 71% in 2030, due to tightening global environmental regulations.

(*) Low viscosity lubricants – Lubricants whose stickiness is similar to that of water with a low grade of viscosity, which represents the internal frictional force against the lubricating liquid flow. 0W and 5W products are low viscosity lubricants, and the lower the number in front of the W, the greater the fluidity of the lubricant at low temperatures.

SK Lubricants CEO Jee Dong-seob said, “With the tightening of global environmental regulations, automakers, which are the main consumers of lubricants, are rapidly shifting toward eco-friendly cars. We will take the lead in creating social value in the environmental sector through strong innovation to help eco-friendly cars and the ecosystem for lubricant oils settle and grow.”

[Photo Description] SK Lubricants CEO Jee Dong-seob