Honeywell signs R1234yf deal in China

USA: Honeywell has announced a further expansion of the supply of low GWP refrigerant R1234yf after signing a license agreement with a Chinese manufacturer.

Following last month’s news of a production deal with Navin Fluorine International in India, the US manufacturer has signed a further deal, this time with Juhua Corp, one of China’s top fluorine material enterprises.

The multi-year agreement will see Juhua manufacturing R1234yf in China for Honeywell, and Honeywell marketing and selling the product to customers in the US and Europe. Production is expected to begin by the end of this year. In addition to helping to meet worldwide demand, the Chinese plant will also support the future adoption of 1234yf in the region. The additional production will complement capacity currently being built by Honeywell in the US.

The new HFO is being widely adopted to replace R134a in car air conditioning systems and is proposed as a component in many low GWP blends for stationary applications.

“This agreement with Juhua will ensure supply to meet growing global demand as well as to help support future adoption of low-global-warming-potential products in China in response to concerns about increasing global greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ken Gayer, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products.

Honeywell and its suppliers are investing approximately $300m to increase global production capacity for Solstice yf, including the construction of a new, world-scale manufacturing plant using new process technology at the company’s existing Geismar, Louisiana, refrigerants manufacturing site.