Lubes'n'Greases Podcasts

Key industry figures discussing key topics

Listen in as we talk through the ever changing, sometimes challenging, industry issues.
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Water Everywhere and Nowhere

August 2024

Floods and drought will become more prevalent as anthropogenic climate change worsens. As Europe is deluged, the global South will desertification. Decisive action is needed. Our regular sustainability contributor Apu Gosalia returns to the podcast after a long hiatus to talk about the sustainability challenges ahead, the lay of the land with current European Union legislations such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive for supply chains and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Regulation Over-REACH

August 2024

Regulating the production, handling and trade of chemicals, some of which are potentially dangerous, is unarguably a good thing. There are many ways to do it, as exemplified by the difference between the US system and the European system. Both have their advantages and drawbacks, but only one – the Regulation for the and Chemicals, a.k.a. REACH – is so mind-bendingly complicated that Europe’s biggest chemcial company BASF has a team dedicated to it. That team is headed by Stefanie Deuser. We welcome her to the podcast to discuss the architecture of regulations and to warn smaller players of even greater complexity to come in Europe.

Max Bright Stock Potential

July 2024

Trevor Gauntlet talks to industry veteran, Norman Sheppard, about ExxonMobil’s EHC 340 Max bright stock base oil. They look at it from three angles: technically, what is it and how does it match up, the economics and even aesthetics, in particular the color.

Growth for the Additives Business in IMEA

July 2024

In the West, the internal combustion engine’s days are numbered. But in the India, Middle East and Africa region, there’s still a large market for conventional-engine transport and automotive lubricants. Lubes’n’Greases welcomes to the podcast Nitin Mengi, Lubrizol’s vice president for the India, Middle East and Africa region.

The Good News about Lithium Thickeners

April 2024

In part two of this two-part podcast, Dennis Eijdenberg from Axel Christiernsson talks to Trevor Gauntlett about the numerous alternatives to this key metal in grease making. Their conversation outlines some of their benefits as well as pitfalls of a variety of thickeners. While some older technologies deserve to stay in the past, others are getting a new look as the search for alternatives continues.

The Bad News about Lithium Thickeners

April 2024

Dennis Eijdenberg from Axel Christiernsson talks to Trevor Gauntlett about electric vehicle battery makers gobbling up supplies of this key metal used extensively in grease making. Axel Christiernsson is the largest manufacturer of lubricating greases in the world, and the company invests significant resources in developing greases using this jack-of-all-trades thickener and its alternatives.

Five Sustainability Trends for 2024

January 2024

Apu Gosalia, our regular sustainability contributor, takes us through what he thinks are the five major trends in corporate sustainability in 2024. In addition to the CSRD and CSDDD, scope 3 emissions will come under greater scrutiny and robust data collection. Companies will have to incorporate climate risk management further into their operations. Climate fintech will take hold in financial markets to facilitate funding for green investment. Lastly, AI will help resource and energy optimization and data collection.

OP28 and CSDDD Impacts

December 2023

Wrapping up on Dec. 13 was the United Nations Climate Change Conference, a.k.a. COP28. The events was held in Dubai, a location that raised a few eyebrows among many observers, environmentalists included. Despite the venue, important resolutions were made, not least a fund to recompense nations affected by climate change. Our special sustainability contributor Apu Gosalia gives the conference lack of overall impact a lukewarm score, mostly due to its lack of impact.