United States. Chemours recently opened its new Opteon production facility, located near Corpus Christi in Ingleside, Texas.
The $300 million production facility will triple the Chemours capacity of Opteon YF, a hydrofluoro olefin (HFO)-based refrigerant, which is now used in millions of vehicles and thousands of retail stores around the world. When used in automotive air conditioning, opteon YF has a global warming potential (GWP) that is 99.9% lower than the traditional refrigerant it replaces, helping to reduce greenhouse gases and taking an important step towards complying with global warming environmental regulations around the world.
Chemours and its predecessor companies have been manufacturing refrigerants in Coastal Bend since 1972. Including the new Opteon YF production facility inaugurated at the recent event, where production began in February this year, the site now employs approximately 250 employees and 100 contractors.
"This is a historic moment for our young company, and we are thrilled to increase our Opteon production capacity to help meet the needs of our customers today and in the future," said Mark Vergnano, President and CEO of Chemours. "We are committed to bringing sustainable, game-changing solutions to market, including Opteon, and we are proud to manufacture this refrigerant right here in the United States, allowing us to create new jobs in our local community."
In recent years, the European Union, the United States, and Japan have implemented stricter environmental standards for mobile air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, and residential and commercial air conditioning. As a result of these new regulations and changing consumer preferences, market demand has increased in terms of high performance, refrigerants and more environmentally sustainable blends. Opteon refrigerants have zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and very low GWP.
Chemour revealed that several global companies have recently selected Opteon products for residential and commercial air conditioning applications, including Carrier for its residential and light commercial package air conditioning products in North America.
In the mobile air conditioning market, the number of cars using HFO-1234yf is expected to grow to 145 million by the end of 2020. Chemours estimates that, by the end of 2020, using HFO technology like Opteon YF instead of legacy refrigerants will result in the reduction of 113 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which equates to taking about 24 million cars off the road for a year.
By 2025, Chemours estimates that its low-GWP product line will remove approximately 325 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent globally.
Earlier this month, in recognition of Opteon's improved environmental profile compared to traditional refrigerants, Chemours received the American Chemistry Council's Sustainability Leadership Award for the development of Opteon.
"At Chemours, we are proud to pursue business opportunities where our company can succeed, while our products contribute to making the world a more sustainable place," said Paul Kirsch, President of Fluoroproducts in Chemours. "Increasing our Opteon production capacity is about doing well by doing good. We are committed to providing sustainable solutions to our customers, enabling them to adapt to changing government regulations and consumer preferences."
