SK Enmove CEO sees future of lubricants in electric cars

South Korea’s lubricating oil maker SK Enmove Co. is setting its sights on electric vehicle lubricants and liquid coolants for thermal management as its new growth engines.

Lubricants, essential for internal combustion engine cars, will continue to be crucial in running EVs – opening new business opportunities for companies like SK Enmove, Chief Executive Park Sang-gyu said.

“People think lube oil demand will decline with the arrival of the EV era. But that’s not right. Electric vehicles also require lubricants to cool motors, reduce friction resistance in gears and improve driving efficiency,” he said at the company’s ZIC Brand Day on Tuesday.

SK Enmove, a unit of Korea’s top oil refiner SK Innovation Co., developed lube oil for EVs in 2013. It now aims to become the world’s top EV lubricant maker by 2040, the CEO said.

Formerly known as SK Lubricants Co., SK Enmove is already a leading lube oil maker for diesel and gasoline cars. It sells products under the ZIC brand.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, EVs are expected to account for 48% of vehicles globally by 2040. The electric vehicle lubricant market is expected to grow to an estimated 12 trillion won ($9 billion) by 2040, it said.

LIQUID COOLANTS, ANOTHER CASH COW

SK Enmove has also set liquid coolants for heat management at data centers and energy storage systems as another business area for growth.

Last month, it partnered with US computer maker Dell Technologies Inc. and data center cooling system provider Green Revolution Cooling Inc. (GRC) to jointly develop lubricant-based liquid coolants for data centers and build a supply chain in key growth regions around the world.

Liquid immersion cooling is a more efficient heat management technology that cools data servers by directly immersing them in a cooling liquid, compared to air cooling.

Liquid cooling also significantly lowers data center power usage by eliminating most of the energy use for cooling, and reduces carbon emissions.

SK Enmove expects the global immersion coolant market to grow to 42 trillion won by 2040 from less than 1 trillion won in 2020.

The company is currently developing coolant fluids, under the ZIC e-FLOW brand, for electric cars.

LOW-VISCOSITY ENGINE OIL

The company is also developing low-viscosity engine oil for internal combustion engine cars.

While EVs are gaining popularity around the globe, demand for internal combustion engine cars still runs high in some regions, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East, explaining why SK Enmove remains very engaged in its existing lube oil business.

The company said it will strengthen its high-quality, low-viscosity engine oil products using the so-called Group III base oil, which is highly refined and thus meets strict environmental regulations.

SK Enmove, which started its lubricant business in 1963, launched the ZIC brand in 1995.

The company’s lube base oil Yubase is categorized as a Group III base oil. SK Enmove controls the global Group III base oil market with a 40% market share.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.