Gothenburg – November 05, 2026 -- SKF estimates that chillers fitted with its magnetic bearings and commissioned in 2030 could avoid 3.4 million tonnes of CO2e over their lifetime, as the company takes its energy-efficiency and circularity portfolio to COP31.
The estimate compares the chillers with traditional oil-lubricated bearing systems. It rests on lower electricity consumption and higher availability. SKF built it from two International Energy Agency scenarios, "Stated Policies" and "Lift-Off", combined with its own business projection.
SKF targets data-centre cooling with contactless magnetic bearings
Magnetic bearings operate without physical contact, which reduces friction and mechanical wear. SKF says this enables more energy-efficient and reliable cooling systems. Frederic Ponson, Director, Magnetic Mechatronics, said cooling efficiency can curb the energy footprint of data centres as AI-driven demand grows.
CFO and CSO Susanne Larsson said more than 20% of global energy is lost overcoming friction. She said SKF's task is to bring existing solutions to more customers.
SKF shows four asset-life products alongside magnetic bearings
- SKF Insight bearings: support condition monitoring and equipment reliability.
- RecondOil: keeps industrial oil in use for longer.
- Remanufacturing services: restore the useful life of bearings instead of replacing them with new ones.
- SKF Infinium: uses additive manufacturing so large bearings can be renewed rather than replaced.
SKF joins the Energy Efficiency Movement to scale adoption
SKF is joining the Energy Efficiency Movement, a global network that promotes awareness and adoption of energy-efficiency solutions across industry. The company says decarbonization requires collaboration across companies, sectors and value chains, not technology alone.
The COP31 presence follows SKF's 7 October announcement that it would showcase new energy-efficient cooling technologies at Chillventa 2026.