Global Bio-Lubricants Market Research Report: Forecast (2022-27)

Market Definition

Bio-based Lubricants are lubricants made up of vegetable oils & animal fats, which are easily biodegradable & renewable. These types of lubricants are an alternative to mineral-based lubricants & have numerous applications with superior lubricant properties. Vegetable oil used for bio-lubricants is coconut oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, and rapeseed oil. Moreover, these lubricants are produced by the trans-esterification of vegetable oil in the presence of a homogeneous acid & base catalyst. Furthermore, the growing use of these chemicals in the transportation & manufacturing industries led to propel the market growth in the coming years.

Market Insights

The Global Bio-lubricant market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 4.1% during the forecast period, i.e., 2022-27. The Global Bio-lubricant market experienced significant growth during the historical period, owing to the rising government concerns about reducing greenhouse gas emissions & increasing the depletion & price of crude oil. Furthermore, the growing use of vegetable oil-based bio-lubricants as alternative lubricants for the automobile due to their excellent lubricity & the launch of bio-based industrial lubricants are also driving the market growth.

For instance:

• In 2019, Finnish AT-Tuote, in collaboration with Neste, launched the world’s first industrial lubricant with nearly 100% bio-based content.

Besides, the imposition of stricter regulations on chemicals & prohibiting the use of mineral oil-based lubricants by countries such as Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to promote the use of bio-lubricants are driving the demand for vegetable oil-based bio-lubricants. Moreover, the rising demand for bio-lubricant from the economies such as India & China for power generation is further expected to accelerate the market growth in the forthcoming period.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Bio-lubricants Market

COVID-19 severely impacted the Global Bio-lubricants market in 2020. The temporary shutdown of the automotive plants & reduction in the manufacturing of Bio-lubricants led to a decline in the market growth. In addition, the investment inflows by the governments of countries such as the US & Germany decreased, due to which the European Commission slowed down its carbon dioxide reduction goals. In addition, the downturn in the manufacturing & lubricant production stakeholders around the supply chain of bio-based lubricants has seen substantial effects during 2020.

Furthermore, the sales of new cars & vehicle purchases decreased across the globe, owing to the shutdown of manufacturing plants. Hence, the demand for bio-based lubricants also dropped. Moreover, automotive companies such as PSA, Renault, and Fiat Chrysler cut short their production at European plants. Further, Renault halted its manufacturing facilities in approximately 12 production sites, which affected nearly 18,000 workers in France.

In addition, bio-lubricants play a significant role in facilitating the transition of the countries towards a carbon-neutral economy due to their environmental credentials as well as better efficiency & lower energy usage. Thus, due to these factors, the market is expected to escalate in the coming years.

Market Segmentation

Based on the Base Oil:

• Vegetable Oil
• Animal Tallow (Fat)
• Others (Refined oils, Synthetic oils, etc.)

Among the three, Vegetable Oil grabbed the highest market share in the Global Bio-lubricant market during the historical period. The major utilization of vegetable oil based bio-lubricants over the petroleum-based lubricants was due to its various benefits such as cost-effectiveness, reduced environmental impacts, biodegradability, etc. Hence, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil are widely utilized as base oil for bio-lubricants for applications such as transportation fuels & in the generation of electrical power.

Besides this, the widespread use of petroleum-based lubricant oil in industrial machinery, mining, textile manufacturing, forestry, and construction pollutes the environment in small but widespread amounts, causing the majority of environmental damage owing to improper disposal, accidental spillage, leakages, and lost lubrication. Therefore, to overcome leakages, the demand for bio-lubricants is increasing at a rapid pace, which would lead to a rise in the demand for vegetable oil.

Based on Application:

• Automotive Engine Oil
• Gear Oil
• Metalworking Fluid
• Transmission Fluid
• Hydraulic Fluid
• Chainsaw Oil
• Two-Cycle Engine Oil
• Others (Greases, Process Oil, Mold Release Agents, etc.)

Here, Automotive Engine Oil captured substantial market growth during the historical period. The rising concerns about the environmental impact of mineral oil-based lubricants have fueled a global drive to promote base oil for automotive lubricants. Furthermore, engine oil is the most common form of automotive lubricant used in automobiles. It consists of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, detergents, dispersants, and for multi-grade oils, viscosity index improvers. Hence, the growing use of bio-based lubricants in engine oil resulted in elevating market growth.

In addition, coconut oil is widely used as a two-stroke engine lubricant, especially in India. This is due to their low toxicity, good lubricating capabilities, high viscosity index, increased equipment service life, good anti-wear characteristics, etc. Besides, the increased production of new vehicles, the launch of new bio-based engine oil by the market players, and burgeoning government spending on electric vehicles are some of the prime factors projected to fuel the demand for automotive engine oil in the market. For instance:

• In 2022, Kixx launched eco-friendly engine oil Kixx bio1 in global markets. This fully synthetic engine oil is made with 100% plant-based base oil to minimize the oil’s impact on the environment while maximizing its performance.

Based on End User

• Industrial
• Commercial Transport
• Consumer Automotive

Of them, Commercial Transport & Consumer Automotive end-users captured a notable share in the Global Bio-lubricant market. The companies are switching from conventional lubricants to bio-based lubricants for engine oils, hydraulic oils, compressor oils, generators, pump sets, tractors, gears, etc. Besides, the rise in fleet size of passenger cars & commercial vehicles along with surging government spending on electric vehicles are some of the factors expected to propel the consumption of bio-based lubricants in the forthcoming period. 

Regional Landscape

Geographically, the Global Bio-lubricant Market expands across:

• North America
• South America
• Europe
• The Middle East & Africa
• Asia-Pacific

Of all the regions globally, the Asia-Pacific Bio-lubricant market witnessed a significant growth rate during the historical period, owing to the revitalized automotive industry in China & India to drive the global market. Along with this, the growing regulatory intervention by the Chinese government regarding the use of bio-based lubricants in engine oils is expected to escalate the demand for bio-lubricants in the coming years. In addition, the growing awareness of biodegradable lubricants & the rising use of bio-based chemicals in the region due to strict regulations & the gradual shift towards bio-economy in the countries such as China, Australia, and Japan, among others, led to stimulating the market growth.

Moreover, Asia-Pacific is home to major automotive manufacturers such as Hyundai, Toyota, and Nissan compared to the US & Germany. Therefore, the increasing manufacturing of passenger cars & other vehicles in the region would provide a greater opportunity for bio-lubricant providers.

Recent Developments by the Leading Companies

• In 2020, Chevron Corporation’s partnered with Novvi LLC, and announced the first production of 100% renewable base oil from Novvi’s Deer Park, Houston Facility.

Market Dynamics:

Key Drivers: Stringent Regulatory Norms for Oil-based Lubricants to Drive the Market Growth

Over the past decade, reliance on fossil fuels has grown significantly, resulting in the gradual depletion of fuel reserves & increasing crude oil prices. With the increasing number of oil spills & worldwide concern about pollution, there has been a growing interest in developing an alternate solution through research & development for environmentally friendly bio-lubricants derived from natural resources.

Besides, the increasing carbon footing from the use of conventional lubricant in power generation, manufacturing process, etc., and the imposition of stringent regulation toward the use of fossil fuel to reduce greenhouse emission has placed a lucrative opportunity for the growth of bio-lubricant.

Possible Restraint: High Cost & Low Oxidative Properties of Bio-lubricants to Hamper the Market

Vegetable oil-based lubricants are organic & largely biodegradable and are used as a potential alternative to conventional lubricants. However, the direct use of vegetable oil such as palm oil & sunflower oil is constrained by their low oxidative properties & has less hydrolytic stability. Thus, they have low-temperature properties & have a slight range of accessible viscosities. Therefore, the bio-lubricants have improper chemical alterations & formulas with antioxidants.

Moreover, due to low oxidation properties, the bio-lubricants have different combinations with minerals & oils, which results in improper disposal, accidental spillage, and leakages. Hence owing to this, the demand for bio-based lubricants has decreased across the globe.

Furthermore, bio-lubricants are produced by the esterification of fatty acids in vegetable oils. This process is being held with long-chain alcohol in the presence of an ion-exchange resin. This process results in increasing the cost of bio-based lubricants & is likely to decline the market’s growth.

Growth Opportunity: Rising Demand for Biodegradable Lubricants to Replace Petroleum-based & Mineral-based Oil

The bio-lubricants are a suitable alternative to petroleum-based oils & have solved various environmental issues. Plant oils & animal fat are used as renewable raw materials. It is renewable by nature & contains a minimum of 25% carbon from bio-sourced sources. Moreover, in recent years the demand for biodegradable lubricants has increased across various industries such as automotive & chemical, among others gradually. Therefore, the rising traction of the automotive industry to opt for bio-based lubricants to reduce the carbon footprint provides a significant growth opportunity for the Global Bio-Lubricant market.

In addition, bio-based lubricant products are used as a greener alternative to petroleum lubricating oils that pollute the environment & emit poisonous fumes. Moreover, bio-based lubricant oils have made remarkable progress in recent years in a variety of application areas to take advantage of their superior properties & individuality, including biodegradability, reduced flammability, less toxicity, and lower volatility. Hence, due to these factors, the demand for bio-lubricants has been propelled across the globe.

Key Questions Answered in the Market Research Report:

1. What are the overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares) of the Global Bio-lubricant Market?
2. What are the region-wise industry size, growth drivers, and challenges?
3. What are the key innovations, opportunities, current & future trends, and regulations in the Global Bio-lubricant Market?
4. Who are the key competitors, their key strengths & weaknesses, and how do they perform in the Global Bio-lubricant Market based on the competitive landscape?
5. What are the key results derived from surveys conducted during the Global Bio-lubricant Market?