SKF's New Summit: Fighting Industrial 'Friction' After COP30

GOTHENBURG, Sweden – November 26, 2025

As the dust settles from the UN Climate Conference COP30 in Belém, Brazil, a familiar pattern threatens to emerge: a wave of ambitious pledges followed by the slow grind of implementation. But one industrial giant is moving to break that cycle. SKF, the Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing leader, is translating the dialogue of global climate summits into a direct call to action, convening a high-stakes gathering aimed at dismantling the real-world barriers to industrial decarbonization.

The War on a New Kind of Friction

On December 3-4, the inaugural SKF Friction Fighting Summit will bring a formidable coalition of industrial leaders, policymakers, academics, and investors to Gothenburg. The summit’s name is a deliberate play on words. While SKF built its century-old empire on reducing mechanical friction in rotating machinery, this event targets a more insidious and complex challenge: the systemic 'friction' embedded in business models, financial incentives, and corporate decision-making that stalls the adoption of proven green technologies.

This concept of non-technical friction is the critical missing piece in the sustainability puzzle. While COP30 highlighted an arsenal of available decarbonization solutions—from green hydrogen to circular manufacturing—their widespread deployment remains sluggish. The reasons are often found not in the engineering lab, but in the boardroom and in government policy. Legacy business models, built on a linear 'take-make-dispose' economy, struggle to accommodate circular principles like remanufacturing. Incentive structures frequently reward short-term cost-cutting over long-term, sustainable value creation. Furthermore, organizational inertia and a perceived risk associated with new operational models can paralyze even the most forward-thinking leaders.

"COP30 demonstrated that collaboration is essential for climate transition. Now it's time to move from words to action," stated David Johansson, President of Industrial Region Europe & Africa at SKF. "The Friction Fighting Summit brings together the players who can turn ambition into real change."

This initiative directly addresses the core findings from conferences like COP30, where the 'how' of implementation has become a more pressing question than the 'what.' By assembling stakeholders who control capital allocation, industrial strategy, and regulatory frameworks, SKF aims to create a crucible for forging new, commercially viable pathways for sustainability.

From Bearings to Blueprints for a Circular Economy

SKF arrives at this moment not just as a convener, but as a practitioner with a validated track record. The company's own innovations, showcased and celebrated at COP30, serve as the summit's foundational proof points. Its remanufacturing of industrial roller bearings, for example, earned a prestigious 'Best Cases' award from SBCOP (Sustainable Business COP30) for its tangible impact.

In 2024 alone, this program avoided an estimated 15,600 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions by reusing approximately 4.5 million kilograms of steel. For customers, remanufactured bearings offer a compelling value proposition: the same performance and quality standards as new parts but with a lower cost, shorter lead times, and a carbon footprint reduced by up to 90%. This is the circular economy in action—transforming a potential waste stream into a high-value asset and decoupling revenue growth from virgin resource consumption.

Beyond remanufacturing, SKF presented its RecondOil technology, a system that enables the circular use of industrial oils by regenerating them to a like-new condition, drastically reducing waste and the need for new fossil-based lubricants. The company also highlighted its contributions to the renewable energy sector with drivetrains for tidal power and energy-efficient magnetic and ceramic bearing technologies for HVAC systems.

In a move underscoring its commitment to collaborative progress, SKF also launched 'The Patent Bay'—an open platform sharing select patents to accelerate the development of sustainability-focused technologies across the industry. This strategy of open innovation signals a recognition that the climate challenge is too vast for any single company to tackle alone.

"We know technology exists. What's missing are systematic measures and business models that reward sustainability," said Vanja Winblad, the company's Sustainability Director for the region. "The Friction Fighting Summit is a bold initiative to actively drive this development."

Commercializing Sustainability and Forging Strategic Autonomy

The summit's agenda extends beyond environmental stewardship into the heart of economic strategy and competitive advantage. By focusing on scaling proven solutions, the event aims to act as a catalyst for commercializing sustainability. This reframes the narrative from one of cost and compliance to one of opportunity and innovation. Companies that successfully integrate circular models and green technologies are not just reducing their carbon footprint; they are building more resilient, efficient, and cost-effective supply chains.

In a crowded field of industrial giants like Siemens, Bosch, and GE Vernova—all of whom are making significant strides in industrial AI, electrification, and digital optimization—SKF is carving out a distinct leadership position. While competitors often focus on broad-based digitalization and energy systems, SKF is leveraging its deep expertise in the performance and longevity of critical industrial components to champion the circular economy. This focus on remanufacturing, asset lifecycle extension, and resource efficiency offers a complementary, and arguably more foundational, path to decarbonization.

The summit’s focus on strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy is also telling. By fostering a domestic ecosystem for green industrial innovation and circular supply chains, European industries can reduce their dependence on volatile global supply chains and fluctuating raw material prices. Building capacity in areas like remanufacturing and resource recovery is not just a green policy; it's a strategic imperative for long-term economic resilience.

With a speaker list that includes CEOs and senior leaders from major industrial players like ABB, SSAB, Alfa Laval, and Kongsberg Maritime, alongside policymakers and academic heads from institutions like Chalmers University, the summit is poised for substantive debate. The presence of investors like Cevian Capital signals that the financial community is now a critical participant in these discussions, ready to deploy capital where sustainable business models demonstrate clear, long-term value. The gathering in Gothenburg represents a pivotal attempt to align the gears of industry, finance, and policy, seeking to finally overcome the friction that has held back a truly sustainable industrial transformation.