Chemours to close R123 plant

CANADA: Complying with the phase out of HCFCs under the Montreal Protocol, refrigerant manufacturer Chemours is to close its R123 production facility in Maitland, Ontario.

The HCFC refrigerant R123 was originally introduced in the 90s as a retrofit gas to replace the banned CFC R11 in low pressure centrifugal chillers and used extensively in new chillers.

With virgin HCFCs being banned from use in the US and Canada from 2020, and with demand for R123 dwindling, the decision was taken to close the plant with the loss of 37 jobs. Production will cease at the end of October.

“With diminishing volume demand for HCFC123, Chemours can no longer produce this product cost-effectively,” Alvenia Scarborough, Chemours’ director of brand marketing and corporate communications, told the local Recorder and Times.