ILMA Compoundings - October 2020 - 52

IN NETWORK

Cross Connections
Weathering the Storm
API sees new spec success
By Jeffrey Harmening

n the April issue of Compoundings, I wrote in depth
about the upcoming (at the time) first-license date by
the American Petroleum Institute (API) for engine oils
formulated to meet the new ILSAC GF-6A, GF-6B and API
SP performance standards. I'll bet an oil change that the
reader would agree it feels as if a lifetime has passed since I
wrote that article.
Since that time, we have all been subject to a storm of
ever-worsening news that has clearly had an impact on us
all, both personally and professionally, and the lubricant
industry (among many, many others) has been challenged
by one of the greatest tests faced in a generation. I'll bet
another oil change that the reader would agree that 2020
could not end fast enough.
Thus, I thought it would be prudent to share some welcome news for a change and give readers an update on the
API Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System (www.
api.org/eolcs) with respect to the new passenger car motor
oil, or PCMO, standards. First and foremost, the rollout of
the licensing program for oils meeting the new standards,
introduced on May 1, has been a success. API had allowed
marketers to begin submitting their new products for early
approval weeks in advance, and over 1,200 products became
licensed as the clock struck midnight. There have been many
new products licensed since then.
Let's begin with the ILSAC GF-6A standard. As a
reminder, oils formulated to meet this standard are backward-compatible for applications where oils meeting GF-5
or earlier gasoline engine oil standards are recommended,
and oils licensed accordingly are eligible to display the API
certification mark "starburst."
As of mid-August, over 2,600 products are now licensed
by API to display the starburst. These products were licensed
by over 285 marketers in 26 countries. While North
American licensees comprise about 70% of these marketers,
it is interesting to note that marketers from the Asia-Pacific
region make up the bulk of the remainder, coming in at
25%. As one might expect, SAE 5W-30 engine oils win the
day in this category (see Figure 1).

OCTOBER 2020

| COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG

Moving on to ILSAC GF-6B, API has now licensed over
130 products from 105 marketers in 14 countries. Remember, the GF-6B specification applies only to SAE 0W-16
gasoline engine oils, and licensed oils are eligible to display
the new API certification mark "shield" on these products.
These oils are backward-compatible for applications where
SAE 0W-16 API SN-licensed oils are recommended. The
interesting fact here is the majority of marketers licensing to
GF-6B reside in the Asia-Pacific region (see Figure 2). This
Figure 1. SAE viscosity-grade breakdown for licensed ILSAC
GF-6A products.
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
5W-30

5W-20

10W-30

0W-20

0W-30

Figure 2. Regional distribution of ILSAC GF-6B licensed products.
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
AsiaPacific

North
America

Middle
East

Europe Southeast South
Asia
Asia

Australasia

http://www.api.org/eolcs http://www.api.org/eolcs http://www.ILMA.ORG

ILMA Compoundings - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - October 2020