.png){kind=small}
Exploring new sustainable specialty chemical-based products to capture adjacent markets over the next 3 years
CamIn works with early adopters to identify new opportunities enabled by emerging technology.
of CamIn’s project team comprised of leading industry and technology experts
Our client wanted to select new sustainable specialty chemical-based products to capture adjacent markets over the next 3 years. CamIn went through its proprietary process to identify 10 new competitive products from 200 applied molecular families and 20 application areas.
Over the past 5 years, the client had faced poor financial performance due to external factors such as product commoditisation, increased regulation, price fluctuations, and low-cost alternative feedstocks. In addition, the client had made poor capacity investments specifically for their expansion into new markets. After the client had stabilised their financials, they decided to actively pursue new inorganic growth opportunities. The client did not have confidence in identifying the opportunities themselves and therefore required an independent study from and consulting partner.
|
13 |
Interviews conducted with senior leadership to gained insights into the client’s capabilities, weaknesses, future aspirations, and associated risks. |
|
20 |
Assessed 20 key application areas for sustainable specialty chemical products based upon the client’s capabilities and CamIn’s intelligence on market trends and pressures. |
|
200 |
For ~200 molecular families, assessed the most promising products based on client capabilities, ease of acquiring new capabilities, and demand for premium over commodity-like products. |
|
10 |
Confirmed a shortlist of 10 highest-priority strategic options for the client, covering application areas, associated molecular products, and the key geographic markets to address. |
CamIn shortlisted 10 strategic product options, developing product roadmaps that confirmed chemistries and processes the client needs.
The client is exploring each option in detail, piloting new products with a view to scaling up production.
By determining the most suitable strategic product options, CamIn derisked the client’s $10 million investment into new product opportunities.
Download our detailed case study and discover how offshore automation improved efficiency, safety, and uptime for our client.
.svg)
Oleochemicals are chemical compounds derived from natural fats and oils, typically sourced from animal fats like tallow, or plant-based materials like palm, coconut, or soy. They are used in a wide range of applications, from personal care products and lubricants to detergents, polymers, and coatings. As bio-based alternatives to petrochemicals, sustainable specialty chemicals are central to sustainable manufacturing and circular economy strategies.
Diversification enables sustainable specialty chemicals manufacturers to move beyond commoditised markets and stabilise revenue streams in the face of feedstock volatility, tightening regulations, and global price pressures. By identifying adjacent high-margin products and applications, particularly those that reward bio-based sourcing and green chemistry, firms can better leverage core process capabilities like hydrogenation, esterification, ozonolysis and dimerisation to unlock new growth.
New growth is emerging in sectors that prioritise biodegradability, traceability, and renewable content, such as bioplastics, sustainable lubricants, low-toxicity surfactants, and cosmetic actives. The push toward decarbonisation across industries, combined with consumer and regulatory pressure for greener supply chains, is opening premium markets for high-performance, sustainable specialty chemical derivatives.
A suite of advanced technologies is reshaping sustainable specialty chemicals manufacturing, enabling producers to reduce emissions, improve process efficiency, and develop high-value bio-based products. These technologies fall into four main categories: process innovation, catalytic and biochemical conversion, digital transformation, and feedstock valorisation.
Process innovation and green chemistry
Catalytic and biochemical conversion
Digitisation and smart manufacturing
Feedstock innovation and circularity
Sustainability is moving from a differentiator to a compliance and procurement requirement. Companies across sectors now face regulatory, financial, and reputational pressures to source low-impact, traceable, and circular-compatible specialty chemicals.
Bio-based, low-carbon, and recyclable formulations are replacing petrochemical incumbents across sectors, delivering equivalent or superior performance while enabling regulatory compliance, emissions reduction, and circular manufacturing.
Additives for sustainable aviation and marine fuels are at mid-to-high technical readiness, with several pilot-scale synthetic routes and waste-derived formulations emerging, suggesting commercial integration within 3-5 years.
The chemistry and functional principles of green fuel additives are mature, but adoption is currently gated by the difficulty of certification, scale-up, and feedstock economics.
| Difficulty | Barriers to Adoption |
|---|---|
| High | All new additives must undergo rigorous testing under ASTM D1655/D7566 and ISO 8217 before use in flight or shipping. Certification cycles can take years. |
| High | Additives must remain stable and effective across multiple SAF or bio-marine fuel compositions (HEFA, ATJ, FT-SPK, etc.), complicating universal formulation. |
| Medium | Many bio-derived additive molecules (e.g. esters, cycloalkanes) are only available at pilot scale, constraining performance testing and early deployment. |
| Medium | Dependence on bio- or waste-derived feedstocks (lipids, lignin, or recycled aromatics) exposes producers to agricultural yield and commodity price swings. |
| Medium | Differences in additive approval processes between FAA, EASA, IMO, and regional fuel standards slow global adoption and increase compliance costs. |
| Medium | Limited long-duration testing in turbines or marine engines leaves uncertainty around long-term stability, corrosion, and emissions impacts. |
| Medium | Some novel additives have hygroscopic or oxidative tendencies, requiring new blending, storage, or distribution protocols at depots and ports. |
| Medium | Sustainable additives often have higher production costs due to bioprocessing or purification steps, limiting uptake without carbon-credit or policy incentives. |
| Medium | Successful adoption requires co-development with SAF or marine fuel producers to ensure compatibility with refinery or hydrotreating steps. |
| Medium | Fuel producers and additive suppliers may withhold proprietary blend data, slowing collaborative optimization and certification pathways. |
Polyisobutylene succinimide (PIBSI) dispersants are engineered through controlled maleination and imidization chemistries to create ashless amphiphilic molecules that stabilise oxidation products and deposits in SAF.
PIBSIs enable cleaner, more stable, and certifiable low-aromatic SAF blends by preventing oxidation-driven deposit formation, maintaining filterability, and meeting regulatory limits.
The global aviation fuel additives market (which today largely serves conventional jet fuels) is projected to grow from around $870 million in 2024 to about $1.3 billion by 2031, representing a ~6.2 % CAGR. Meanwhile, the broader sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector is expected to scale rapidly: one forecast puts the global SAF market at $1.6 billion in 2024 and growing to $25.6 billion by 2030.
Because additives are a value-added component of fuel blends, if green additive solutions capture even a modest premium or share in the evolving SAF/low-carbon fuel space, the total addressable market (TAM) could represent tens to potentially hundreds of millions of dollars annually in recurring revenues.
Moreover, mandates and blending obligations (e.g. SAF blending rules in the EU) create a compulsory growth tailwind for fuel volumes, indirectly expanding the demand base for additive solutions.
In short, as SAF and low-carbon marine fuels scale, there is a built-in “adjacent market” for performance and compatibility additives, making this a high-leverage niche.
| Factor | Assessment | Overall outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Political | The EU’s proposed SAF blending mandates and emissions regulations in many jurisdictions, generate compulsory demand. However, political shifts or mandate delays may slow downstream adoption. | Positive |
| Economic | Fuel cost pressures and carbon pricing may help green additives justify premiums, while economies of scale in SAF production will reduce cost gaps. High initial R&D and scale-up costs may impede smaller entrants. | Positive |
| Social | Airlines, shipping firms, and downstream users face reputational and investor pressure to decarbonize, which supports uptake of performance-enhancing, low-carbon additives. | Positive |
| Technological | Advances in catalysis, biomass- or waste-derived feedstocks, and integration with SAF production pathways improve feasibility. Ensuring additive stability and long-term performance is nontrivial. | Positive |
| Legal | Stringent certification and additive approval requirements (ASTM, ISO, etc.) pose a legal barrier; but once cleared, such regulation also becomes a moat. | Negative |
| Environmental | Additives that reduce emissions, improve fuel efficiency, or enable higher blend rates will have strong positive environmental rationale. However, lifecycle carbon and feedstock sourcing must be credible and auditable. | Positive |
Specialty chemicals firms have strong core capabilities in formulation, process scale-up, and compliance, but need sector-specific partnerships and certification access to move from additive R&D to large-scale adoption.
A typical specialty chemicals firm is well-positioned to enter the sustainable aviation and marine fuel additive market, with strong chemistry, formulation, and regulatory expertise, but may need to expand into new feedstock sourcing, certification processes, and aerospace/marine partnerships to capture the opportunity. Overall, these firms possess the “how” (molecular design, production, and QA) but must strengthen the “where” (aviation/marine value-chain access) to achieve viability.
| Capability | Rationale | Current fit estimate | Current fit summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalysis and formulation chemistry | Core strength in designing multifunctional molecules (lubricity improvers, antioxidants, cold-flow modifiers). | Strong | Most specialty firms already develop additives for fuels and lubricants with scalable synthetic know-how. |
| Process engineering and pilot-scale synthesis | Scaling novel chemistries from lab to production at consistent purity. | Strong | Extensive pilot-to-commercial synthesis infrastructure, including batch and continuous processing for fine chemicals. |
| Regulatory and certification expertise | Navigating REACH, TSCA, IMO, and ASTM fuel additive certification standards. | Strong | Large chemical producers maintain in-house regulatory teams and third-party testing partnerships for fuel approval pathways. |
| Feedstock and supply-chain integration | Securing sustainable bio-based or CO₂-derived intermediates. | Moderate | Firms may rely on external biorefineries or carbon-utilisation startups for novel precursors. |
| Aviation and marine industry partnerships | Collaborating with OEMs, refineries, and airlines/shipping operators for performance validation. | Moderate | Limited direct relationships outside petrochemical incumbents; growing through initiatives like Clean Skies for Tomorrow. |
| Lifecycle assessment (LCA) and ESG reporting | Demonstrating verified GHG and toxicity reductions for green-chemistry claims. | Moderate | Many firms have strong sustainability teams, but fuel-specific LCA standards (CORSIA, FuelEU Maritime) require tailored frameworks. |
| Digital process optimisation and analytics | Using data-driven process control to optimise yields and emissions. | Moderate | Advanced analytics in production exist, but may need adaptation for bio-feedstock variability and additive precision blending. |
| Bio-based and CO₂-based synthesis expertise | Developing renewable intermediates from fermentation, gas fermentation, or CO₂ conversion. | Moderate | Growing R&D presence (e.g. collaborations with LanzaTech, Twelve), though limited large-scale deployment. |
| Commercial scaling and route-to-market | Marketing new additives to energy and transport sectors. | Moderate | Strong B2B distribution networks, but entry into aviation/marine fuel ecosystems requires alignment with refinery and OEM partners. |
| Testing and certification infrastructure (ASTM/IMO/ICAO) | Conducting full compatibility and emissions testing under aviation/marine operating conditions. | Weak | Certification facilities are often external; requires partnerships with test houses or OEMs to validate additive safety and performance. |
CamIn conducted 13 interviews with senior management and assessed 20 key application areas to evaluate the client's capabilities and potential opportunities. We reviewed 200 key molecular families and confirmed the 10 highest priority strategic product options, including assessing potential geographic markets.
