How Petro-Canada Lubricants is supporting the future of the refrigeration industry with Suniso®

Q&A with Scott Wainwright, Director of Finished Lubricants Sales, EMEA and APAC for HF Sinclair’s Lubricants & Specialties.

In September 2024, Petro-Canada Lubricants, an HF Sinclair brand, assumed management of the renowned Suniso® brand, trademark and technology, and began marketing and distributing Suniso refrigeration lubricants globally.

Designed for use in consumer and commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, the Suniso product range has evolved over the past 90 years to match the requirements of modern refrigeration systems and changes in lubricating base oil technology. The offering includes Suniso GS highly refined mineral refrigeration lubricants and Suniso SL synthetic refrigeration lubricants. 

In this Q&A, Scott Wainwright, Director of Finished Lubricants Sales, EMEA and APAC for HF Sinclair’s Lubricants & Specialties, discusses some of the key issues within the refrigeration industry and what consumers can expect from Suniso and the Petro-Canada Lubricants brand in the future. 

Can you tell us why Petro-Canada Lubricants assumed management of the Suniso brand from Sonneborn?

Petro-Canada Lubricants has researched, developed and produced world-class advanced lubricants, specialty fluids and greases for over 45 years with specific experience in the refrigeration industry. Recognized and trusted globally, the Suniso name has been part of the refrigeration industry since its inception, and we’re excited to continue building on its 90+ year legacy.

Petro-Canada Lubricants is well-positioned to work with multiple stakeholders, from end-users to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Suniso brand will be marketed through an expanding network of authorized distributors to improve and extend distribution.

Why should refrigeration operators care about lubricant choice? Are they not all the same?

In the simplest terms, using a quality lubricant that is appropriate for the technical requirements of your equipment helps to maintain system performance and your wider operation. If the refrigeration system isn’t cooling, it’s not doing its job, and your wider operation can fail.

Moreover, utilizing a quality lubricant with an optimal viscosity, low wax content and high thermal stability will increase the life of your cooling system, so replacing equipment becomes less frequent. This reduced downtime is good for efficiency and can also help to secure sustainability benefits. 

The misconception that all refrigeration lubricants are the same can be costly. There are a range of products, of varying degrees of quality, developed to perform to certain specifications such as compatibility with gas or the operating condition of the system.

This is why Petro-Canada Lubricants is developing a Suniso lubricant selector software that enables customers to effectively identify the appropriate product for their system, based on operating practices and compressor needs. Backed up by our experienced technical team, this will make product choice simple for customers and provide advice that they can trust. 

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the refrigeration industry?

For an industry more than a century old, rapidly evolving recent changes can be challenging. In particular, the move to low global warming potential (GWP) gas refrigerants, enacted by the Kigali Amendment in 2016, has led to a more diverse range of solutions in the marketplace. In turn, this means that finding a lubricant that works for a specific system’s unique operating conditions is difficult. For example, the levels of solubility and miscibility required in the lubricant depend on the operating conditions; there’s no one-size-fits-all.

The industry is also seeing a drive for efficiency, both in terms of the performance of the compressor, on which lubricants can have a significant impact, and reducing the electrical demand from the system. Again, this is aimed at producing a lower carbon footprint.

Other environmental and safety regulations are also impacting which refrigerants can be used by operators. In Europe, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or forever chemicals) legislation has led to operational changes, while in North America, there are now limits on the charge capacity of refrigerants used in large domestic facilities due to their flammability. As previously mentioned, this means that new lubricant solutions are needed to maintain system performance in different conditions.

Beyond the lubricant itself, how are you supporting customers?

Since Petro-Canada Lubricants assumed global management of Suniso, I’ve sensed genuine excitement from the industry, because the brand is synonymous with technical expertise. We have an incredibly strong team of technical advisors around the world, in addition to a highly skilled sales team that is committed to understanding operators’ technical needs. Through close collaboration and a personal service, we’re able to understand how to troubleshoot issues and enable operators to get the best out of Suniso lubricants and, ultimately, their equipment.

We are also building a global network of technical partner experts to provide training to our customers and distributors on issues such as the impact of certain gases on their equipment, as well as lubricant storage and transportation. If we can help to train and educate the industry, it will help everyone get more out of their equipment. In addition, through developments such as our Suniso lubricant selector technology, we’re able to make life simpler for our customers.

What’s next for Petro-Canada Lubricants and Suniso?

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in the refrigeration industry with the drive toward more sustainable solutions such as domestic and industrial heat pumps. We’re being driven by technological development; there has been a significant transition to lower GWP gases in refrigeration, so it’s up to us to develop appropriate solutions. Accordingly, we’re investing in working with OEMs to develop those solutions. 

We’re supporting the future of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps alongside our partners and there are a number of upcoming developments, so keep an eye out over the next few months! If you have any questions about lubricants or your refrigeration system, talk to us – we might just be able to get more from your lubrication. 

Get in touch with the Suniso team at here: https://sunisolubricants.com/contact-us.

For more from HF Sinclair, please visit: www.hfsinclair.com.