ILMA Compoundings - Jul/Aug 2021 - 25

S
miles, hugs and positive energy
abounded as more than 430
members of the lubricants
industry met face to face for the first
time since the COVID-19 pandemic
began. During ILMA ReEngage in
Orlando, Florida, attendees shared
how they've embraced the myriad
changes of the past 20 months, gathered
critical business intelligence and
identified strategies for the future.
COMMITTEE DAY
Members kicked off the meeting with
committee day, coming together to
exchange ideas and information on
the latest regulations and business
challenges.
Attendees discussed sustainability
issues, including the Union of
the European Lubricant Industry's
(UEIL) work to define and create a
framework for sustainability within
the global lubricants industry, in the
Safety, Health, Environmental and
Regulatory Affairs (SHERA) Committee
meeting. In the U.S., the Biden
administration is pushing to decarbonize
vehicles by 2050, and other
countries have set similar objectives.
The committee recommended that
ILMA continue investigating the
effect decarbonization will have on the
lubricants industry.
During the Metalworking Fluids
Committee meeting, Matt Levetown,
ILMA associate counsel, addressed the
Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA) action on Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 Risk
Evaluation and Management. The
EPA is evaluating 20 high-priority and
20 low-priority chemicals. With no
revision process for final risk evaluation
and management, stakeholder
input during the review process is
imperative, he emphasized.
While speaking to the Global Affairs
and Trade Committee, Jim Eggenschwiler,
principal, global trade and chemical
regulations services at SafeBridge
Consultants Inc., said the EPA is
advancing policy to deny low-volume
exemptions as an approval path for
new substances in categories of concern
under TSCA. He added that the
agency wants to attach significant new
use rules (SNURs) to every chemical.
Several global registration deadlines
are approaching, Eggenschwiler noted.
The registration of existing chemical
substances in South Korea, which has
been discussed for several years, is now
underway. Dec. 31 is the registration
deadline for all chemicals imported at
1,000 metric tons per year or more,
as well as all chemicals classified as
carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to
reproduction (CMR).
Registration has also begun for
Turkey's KKDIK (an acronym in the
Turkish language for Registration,
Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction
of Chemicals), with a deadline
of Dec. 31, 2023. Vietnam has a new
national chemical inventory.
TRANSPORTATION TRENDS
Several thought leaders provided
insights into emerging transportation
technology, including electric vehicles
(EVs). Jeff Hove, vice president of the
Fuels Institute, said proposed bans
on internal combustion engine (ICE)
sales will boost EV sales.
Currently, 46.7% of the global
light-duty vehicle market has
implemented, announced or is
contemplating a ban on sales of ICE
vehicles. Additionally, the price of
EV batteries has come down 63% in
the past five years, getting closer to
cost parity - estimated to be $61 per
kilowatt-hour - with ICEs. Rates
were $137/kWh in 2020, down from
$1,160 in 2010. But liquid fuels
remain important, Hove said. " Even if
we get high adoption rates of lightduty
vehicles and hit 60% of sales by
2040, those vehicles will only make
up 27% of the light-duty fleet on the
road, " he explained.
Gabe Rhoads, senior director of
North American sales for Lubrizol,
observed that the most growth is
expected in EV passenger vehicles, and
the transition will start with hybrids.
Both hybrids and EVs create new
challenges for the lubricants industry,
such as the need for increased protection
against copper corrosion and
compatibility with plastic structural
materials. " As technology advances,
the lubricants need to advance with
it, " he said.
Rex Curtis of Troy Corporation asks a question during
Wednesday's SHERA Committee meeting.
Rhoads also pointed out that, while
EVs hold promise for the future,
lubricants can help improve sustainability
today. In commercial vehicles,
low-viscosity lubricants can help
improve fuel economy by up to 1.5%,
and API FA-4 oils can bump that
up to 2.2%. " We don't need to wait
for the future. Opportunities exist
today around the world to upgrade to
25
ILMA Compoundings - Jul/Aug 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - Jul/Aug 2021
