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Fuels & Lubes International Quarter Three 2015
他说。
还有更麻烦的，REACH限制了不同国家之间的相互认可，他说。
比如，中国只能接受来自中国的实验室的数据，另一些国家也只能
接受其本国实验室的数据。
可持续性是润滑油的另一个驱动因素，但对可持续性的定义各
不相同。“可持续性”可能是指无生物活性，可生物降解，或无毒，
或二氧化碳足迹的大小。此外，可持续性这种思维与可盈利性有冲
突，他说。他指出，“经济利益与生态利益之间存在不可调和的矛
盾。”
润滑油行业在确定和明确可持续性标准方面处于非常被动的地
位，这部分是因为它不能带来显著的经济利益，他说。欧盟有可能
提出任何潜在的可持续性法规，他说。“行业明确需要自己组织起
来，非常明确、严格地定义标准，以对当局形成影响，使自己免受
欧盟或其他立法机构的不利影响。”
这其中的原因是，直到目前也没有对如何定义润滑油或其有效成
分的生态安全性达成共识，他说。
只要美国、欧洲或日本有相关的标准，世界上大部分国家都会采
用他们的技术要求。Lindemann也指出，中国对这些不同的要求
兼而取之。在中国，来自三个地区的规格相互竞争。而且中国也在
制定自己的标准，很快会自成一个地区。这将使全球的法规环境更
加碎片化。
分散研发
在这种新的环境下，Lindemann说，研发工作就要分散进行，以满
足不同技术地区的需求。“在目前的法规问题和限制下，全球市场和
全球产品这种概念已不再有效。”
Lindemann得出了两个主要结论：首先，制定法规必须从头做
起，第一步是了解有什么法规，并尽可能与之保持一致，他说。否
则，就不能接受一种成分或其相关的数据。最后，在产品开发时需
要分散进行，着重于各自不同的技术地区这种做法更适合全球市场
的实际情况。
在Fuchs，这种方法已经改变了产品开发的方式。“已经不再是一
种应用一个产品，[更多的是]一个应用三个产品，以针对三个不同
的技术地区。”不幸的是，这种针对三个技术地区的产品开发的最终
结果是增加了新材料的开发成本，他总结到。
To make things more difficult, REACH inhibits
interactions between countries, he said. China, for instance,
will only accept data from Chinese labs, and the same is
true for some other countries as well.
Sustainability is another driver for lubricants, but its
definitions vary. “Sustainable” may mean biologically
inactive, biodegradable or non-toxic, or it can be defined in
terms of carbon dioxide footprint. Additionally, the idea of
sustainability tends to compete with profitability, he said.
He pointed to an “unsolved conflict of interest between
economical and ecological interests.”
The industry is very passive in establishing and clarifying
standards for sustainability, partly because it does not
bring about great economic benefit, he said. Any potential
sustainability regulationsmay come from the European
Union, he added. “There is a clear need for the industry to
organise ourselves in a way that we define the standards very
clearly, very strict and to influence the authorities in a way
that we will not be hunted by the EU or other regulators.”
Because there is little common understanding as to how
to define the ecological safety of a lubricant or ingredient,
little progress has been made so far, he said.
Across the world, most countries follow technological
requirements from the U.S., Europe or Japan, if they have
standards at all. The only area where these requirements
overlap, Lindemann showed, is China. There, the
specifications of those three areas are competing. China is,
however, developing its own specifications, and according
to Lindemann, will soon become its own technological
region. This will make the global landscape increasingly
fragmented.
DECENTRALISED R&D
In this new landscape, Lindemann said, R&D will
need to be decentralised to cope with the different
technology regions. “The idea of the global market and
global product deteriorates a little bit in view of the
current regulatory issues and restrictions we have.”
Lindemann arrived at two main conclusions:
first, the regulations have to be considered from
the beginning. The first step is knowing where the
regulations are and complying with them, he said.
Otherwise, an ingredient or the data on it may not be
accepted. Finally, transitioning to a de-centralised
way of developing products, focusing more on each
target region, is more in line with the way the global
marketplace is shaping up.
Within Fuchs, this approach has really changed the
way of developing a product. “Instead of one application,
one product, [you’re more likely to have] one application,
three products, for the different regulatory regions.”
Unfortunately, the end result of specialised product
development for each region is an increase in the cost of
developing new materials, he concluded.
Lutz Lindemann
