Chemours Invests to Fight Global Warming

Chemours, a global chemistry company, recently announced it will be expanding its Opteon™ YF (HFO-1234yf) capacity to help meet customer needs as they continue transitioning to lower GWP refrigerants. The Opteon™ YF and YF blends refrigerants are now used in millions of vehicles and thousands of retail stores around the world, with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) that is significantly lower than the legacy refrigerants.

Chemours considers the $80 million capacity expansion project a critical growth investment that supports market demands and aligns with Chemours corporate responsibility targets, delivering high returns and delivering on our purpose. When Chemours opened the facility in June 2019, it more than tripled the company’s capacity of Opteon™ YF, making it one of the world’s largest HFO-1234yf production facilities, a distinction it will retain with this project. This investment, along with on-going de-bottlenecking projects, will further increase site capacity by approximately 40%.

“This expansion demonstrates Chemours’s devotion to our customers, the communities in which we live and work, and the health and sustainability of the planet,” said Alisha Bellezza, president of Thermal & Specialized Solutions at Chemours. “Opteon™ YF is a game-changing refrigerant solution accelerating global sustainability initiatives. As demand increases, we are proud to make the investment that will help our customers navigate the complex regulatory landscape while supporting their bottom line with a high-performing, readily available product.”

The refrigerants manufactured by Chemours in Ingleside—which is 20 minutes outside of Corpus Christi—will be delivered to a rapidly growing base of customers around the world. In the mobile air conditioning market, the number of vehicles on U.S. roads using HFO-1234yf is estimated to be at least 80 million. Since the opening of the production facility, several equipment manufacturing companies have also selected Opteon™ products for residential and commercial HVAC applications. By 2025, Chemours estimates that its low-GWP product line will eliminate an estimated 325 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent globally.

“Chemours is proud to bring this expansion to the Corpus Christi area and demonstrate our commitment to this community,” said Mark Reyes, Chemours’ Corpus Christi plant manager. “The expansion will allow us to increase production of Opteon™ YF, which is a sustainable refrigerant solution designed to help our customers meet regulatory standards.”