SKF RecondOil - Transforming industrial oil from a costly consumable into a reliable asset
SKF’s RecondOil disrupts the conventional way of using lubrication oil in industrial applications by removing the need for oil changes. Thanks to SKF RecondOil’s circular solution, customers can increase their machine uptime while reducing costs and emissions associated with carbon-heavy lubricants.
The challenge
In many industrial processes and machines, lubrication is a necessary but an emission intensive consumable. Most companies use oil until it degrades, eventually discarding it and purchasing new supplies, driving up material waste and emissions. Furthermore, non-performing, contaminated oil causes wear on the machine and its parts, leading to component replacements. Avoiding the worst drawbacks of oil degradation requires frequent oil changes, which increases maintenance costs and process downtime. To help customers avoid these disadvantages of a linear use of oil, SKF launched their RecondOil oil regeneration solution.
The solution
The RecondOil Box is an oil cleaning solution that allows industrial users to reuse the oil almost indefinitely, decreasing waste, costs, and environmental impact. The RecondOil box is using the latest separation technology called double-separation technology (DST). DST consists of a chemical and mechanical separation of contaminants and can go beyond conventional filter technologies of today by removing contaminants of all sizes, down to nano particles.
Instead of treating used oil as waste when degraded, the RecondOil Box continuously regenerates the oil in a kidney-loop system keeping the oil ultra-clean at all times, ensuring high performance and extended oil life. This continuous oil regeneration process enables the oil to be reused over and over again without losing its performance.
SKF’s solution supports circular economy practices by keeping materials in use as long as possible. Also, because the need for virgin oil is significantly reduced, the emission reductions can be reduced to 99% compared to a conventional oil life cycle.
The business model
SKF offers RecondOil as a service. The Oil-as-a-Service contract consists of the product solution and the necessary service elements to reach the customer value of a constantly high-performing oil. The service-based solution allows SKF to ensure that the customer value is achieved by monitoring the oil quality on a regular basis and exchanging the filters condition-based. The aim is for the customer to experience completely trouble-free operations for their lubrication system.
The payment model is flexible as the customer can choose how much to pay upfront and the rest as a periodical service fee. This way, the Oil-as-a-Service solution enables customers to adopt the technology without incurring high upfront investment costs.
To develop the solution, SKF acquired RecondOil, a cleantech startup, in 2019. This acquisition provided SKF with an opportunity to further develop and implement RecondOil’s promising technology at scale. At first, SKF implemented the technology in their own factories to learn and prove the benefits from the technology. Today, the solution is offered to all customers of SKF in various industries on a global scale.
The benefits for the customer
By redefining the value creation of industrial lubrication processes, SKF’s RecondOil offers multiple tangible benefits for the customer:
Total oil cost reduction: Companies can reuse the same oil indefinitely, significantly reducing the need for oil replacement. Extending oil life minimizes expenses related to purchasing, handling, and disposing of lubricants.
Lower environmental impact: Less oil waste means reduced CO₂ emissions, lower resource extraction and lower energy consumption thanks to better machine performance.
Increased machine performance: Cleaner oil results in less wear and tear on machinery, extending the life of industrial components and resulting in higher availability and productivity of the machines.
Fact sheet: SKF
Industry: Bearings and units, seals, lubrications systems, condition monitoring
Annual revenue: $9.8B
Founded: 1907
Employees: 42 641
Launch of circular business model: 2022
Phase of circular business model: Scale-up
How was the solution developed: Acquisition and internal development