CirculOil is a UK based organization aiming to achieve a sustainable oil management economy whilst bringing circularity and efficiency to engine lubrication. Their goal is to collect, re-refine and reuse 100 percent of used oil to avoid waste, cut CO2 emissions, conserve natural resources, and protect people and the environment.
Interview with Steve Goodier, Founder & Chief Executive of CirculOil.
Easy Engineering: A brief description of the company and its activities.
Steve Goodier: Every year over 6 billion litres of dirty used oil is generated by the internal combustion engine market, most of this will be dumped or burnt causing tremendous environmental and climate impacts.
As just 1 drop of oil pollutes a million litres of water; making it unfit to drink, and fatally dangerous to wildlife, every drop we can collect, re-refine and reuse the better it is for the people, the climate and the environment.
CirculOil is committed to creating a sustainable circular economy which will drive circularity and eliminate pollution from waste oil.
The company has developed a unique patented cartridge technology that allows for 100% collection and re-use of waste engine lubrication, creating a circular ecosystem, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 30%.
E.E: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
S.G: Our technology can be installed on a range of off highway machines and equipment.
The heart of the product is an innovative cartridge technology, akin to a printer cartridge in its simplicity, which allows for a quick, green and smart oil and filter change on any equipment it is installed on without the need for lifts, tools or specialist equipment reducing downtime for customers and bringing efficiency to maintenance operations for organizations. This combined with an innovative digital platform enables waste oil to be tracked and traced through our Circular Ecosystem.
When it comes to changing the oil, a new cartridge containing fresh oil and a filter is delivered. The cartridge containing the waste oil is collected from the user by our dedicated logistics providers. The cartridges are cleaned, the oil is re-processed (re-refined) by our 3rd party partner and then both are put back into circulation for further use.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
S.G: As we progress into 2023 our focus will be mainly on building from the solid foundations from launching our cartridge technology in the UK last year.
Over the next 12 months we will continue to roll out our tech across a range of machines in the lawncare, power generation and compressor spaces.
We are currently building an integrated digital platform to bring additional data and functionality to customers and partners which will be launched later this year.
E.E:What are the ranges of products?
S.G: Our patented, innovative cartridge technology can be retrofitted onto a large range of vehicles and equipment in the lawn care, power generation and compressor space.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
S.G: CirculOil are currently marketing our retro-fit technology in the UK within the lawn & garden, power generation and compressed air sectors.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
S.G: From the Circularity Gap Report 2022 published earlier this year, we learn that our world is experiencing rising waste levels and as of today, over 90% of all materials extracted and used are wasted. Or, on the flip side, only 8.6% make it back into our economy.
We know that waste oil is a major pollutant, with over 6 billion litres generated each year, it is the largest amount of liquid, non-aqueous waste in the world. Only about a third gets re-refined, the remainder is either lost in the environment or burnt as fuel. This is due to the current linear model of make, use and waste.
The increasing importance of sustainability, environmental, and climate protection should positively impact demand for circular economy products, this is now recognized in tough new legislation that will help drive change.
A transformation process is underway throughout the entire economy to move away from a linear approach toward a circular one in resource use, which CirculOil is also pursuing. Creating a circulatory economy is vital in reaching climate goals while achieving resource and sustainability goals.
Topics around zero waste, recycling, or end-to-end use of resources in 2023 (beyond the engine lubrication industry) are gaining more economic and political momentum globally.
The off-highway vehicle parc globally is estimated to be over 500 million. This sector includes industrial, lawn & garden, power generation, agriculture and construction and it is a large contributor to waste oil.
This sector will require the use of internal combustion engines (ICE) for many years to come due to the duty cycles (power, load and operating during) and each ICE needs to be regularly maintained to ensure it is reliable and efficient which will minimize CO2 production.
Circuloil offers a solution that makes critical maintenance quick, clean and green and ensures all waste products are re-used.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
S.G: Our patented technology is an innovative cartridge technology, akin to a printer cartridge in its simplicity, which allows for a quick, green and smart oil and filter change on any equipment it is installed on without the need for lifts, tools or specialist equipment reducing downtime for customers and bringing efficiency to maintenance operations for organizations. This combined with an innovative digital platform enables waste oil to be tracked and traced through our Circular Ecosystem.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?
S.G: During 2023 CirculOil aims to attract new partners and customers as we continue to innovate, with the development of our existing system, whilst advancing the used engine oil lubrication economy. In collaboration with supporting industry experts, we plan to install our technology in the power generation, lawn care and compressor sectors and complete around 1000 oil change services, that is around 4,000 litres of waste oil we will be tracking, collecting and recycling.
Within the next 5 years CirculOil expect to be tracking over 2.5 million litres of oil through our smart ecosystem.
Engine Oil will remain indispensable in 2023 for the off-highway sector. Although alternate fuel sources are an option for this sector in the future, these would still see the need for lubricating systems and therefore lubricants and waste oil management.
In the UK alone there are over 10 million vehicles in the off highway sector today with a growth of 5-10% expected over the next 5 years. We believe around 4 millions of these off-highway vehicles could be suitable for early adoption of our plug and play technology. Each of these engines requires oil maintenance several times per year, so you could estimate a total of over 15 million oil changes per year.
These considerable quantities of used lubricants that may be carelessly disposed of or incinerated in many places, with negative consequences for people and the environment.
Steve Goodier, Founder and Chief Executive, CirculOil, says: “We are committed to creating innovative solutions to protect our planet, to do our bit in protecting the environment. At the core of our products and services, we have developed a bespoke Circular Ecosystem, which can effectively and efficiently manage every single oil change and ensure that all the used oil is collected, enabling a complete closed-loop ecosystem.
“By re-refining used oil to manufacture engine oil, we are being 40% more energy efficient than if we manufactured new oil. Since re-refining is a circular process, this leads to the preservation of previous finite natural resources. The environmental benefit from the collection also reduces ground pollution from unregulated disposal of waste oil.”