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PortuguêsAttention, sector professionals! Did you know that the growing demand for lithium in the automotive sector, driven by the electrification of vehicles, has led to a 14-fold increase in the global battery market by 2030, according to German consultancy Statista? Demand for lithium is expected to reach 1.8 million tonnes by then, driving up lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices.
Olipes is in a privileged position compared to its competitors thanks to its extensive portfolio of greases, which allows it to adapt to the changing needs of the market.
However, the company has also developed its own manufacturing technology that allows it to obtain new “organic thickeners” from complex combinations of metals. These new grease formulations have an equivalent performance to calcium sulphonate (CAS) complex greases, but with a significantly lower thickener content.
“The rapid rise in lithium is causing manufacturers to look for alternative solutions, turning to calcium sulphonate complex greases (CAS greases), which are higher performing and, at current lithium prices, cheaper. But all that glitters is not gold: these greases have a high thickener content (calcium sulphonate) compared to lithium and lithium complex greases, meaning that they are not suitable for all applications and the savings are not as high as expected”, explains Fernando Díaz, co-CEO of Olipes.
With close to 100 different grease formulations in stock and over 1,000 custom formulations for each customer and market, Olipes is a highly competitive company in the grease market, with a decade-long advantage in R&D over most manufacturers. In addition to its calcium sulphonate complex greases, the company offers aluminium complex greases, barium complex greases, polyurea complex greases and formulations combined with all types of oils and additives, allowing it to work in environments from -55ºC to +300ºC and under all types of environmental and working conditions