Viscosity index Improver is a sub-product of lubricant additives, accounting for nearly 25% of the market. Lubricant additives are mainly used to improve the comprehensive performance of lubricants, and are widely used in industrial lubricants, ship engine oils, railway locomotive engine oils, automobile engine lubricants and other oil products. At present, the global lubricant additive industry has entered a mature development stage, and its market size maintains a steady growth trend. In 2023, the global lubricant additive market size will reach nearly US$18 billion, a year-on-year increase of nearly 5%. Against this background, the development speed of the viscosity index improver industry is expected to accelerate.
In April 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other six departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Petrochemical Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period". The document clearly proposed to implement the "three products" action, accelerate the development of special lubricants, bio-based materials and other products, and promote the petrochemical industry to develop in the direction of energy conservation and carbon reduction. Driven by national policies, green and environmental protection will become the mainstream trend of the development of my country's viscosity index improver industry.
Viscosity index improvers are mainly used to improve the viscosity index of lubricating oils. They can be added to hydraulic oils, internal combustion engine oils, gear oils and other oils. Aerospace, automobiles, engineering machinery, ships and other industries are their main application areas. With the improvement of the prosperity of downstream industries, the market demand for viscosity index improvers in my country continues to grow. According to the "2024-2028 China Viscosity Index Improver Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report" released by the Xinshijie Industry Research Center, the demand for viscosity index improvers in my country will increase by nearly 3% year-on-year in 2023.
The main market participants in the lubricant additives industry include global chemical manufacturers and professional additives companies, which have launched innovative solutions to meet market demand through continuous R&D investment. In addition, with the advancement of technology, innovative products such as new additives such as nano additives have begun to enter the market, bringing new growth opportunities to the industry.
From a geographical perspective, the Asia-Pacific region has become the fastest growing region for lubricant additives due to its rapid industrial growth and huge automotive market. At the same time, the demand for high-performance and environmentally friendly additives in the North American and European markets has continued to grow. In the future, the development of the lubricant additives industry will pay more attention to environmental protection and sustainability, and will also use digital and intelligent technologies to improve production efficiency and product performance. Faced with increasingly stringent environmental regulations and market demand for high-performance, low-impact products, companies in the industry need to continue to innovate to remain competitive.
The global viscosity index improver market is mainly concentrated in Europe and the United States, with representative companies including Lubrizol, Infineum, Afton, Romanx, BASF, etc. In terms of the domestic market, compared with developed countries overseas, my country's viscosity index improver industry started late and has a small number of manufacturers. Ruifeng New Materials is a leading lubricant additive company in my country. Its main products include viscosity index improvers, extreme pressure anti-wear agents, ash-free dispersants, etc. The company is currently actively promoting the research and development of low-viscosity viscosity index improvers.
Industry analysts said that as a lubricant additive, viscosity index improvers have a wide range of applications. In the future, as market demand gradually releases, its industry development trend will continue to improve. Compared with developed countries overseas, my country's viscosity index improver industry started late. Due to factors such as high technical barriers, demand is highly dependent on imports, which is the main challenge facing the development of the industry.
