IOL Fluorine Chemical Weekly Report: Effective Supply of Refrigerants Remains Tight, Demand Supports Market's High-Level Rise

Refrigerant: Effective supply shortage + demand support drives market to high-level exploration and rising prices
This week, refrigerant demand remains in the recovery phase, with prices of some products showing slight upward trends. Weekly market characteristics: Supply side: Annual production is rigidly constrained by quotas, with mainstream refrigerant plants operating normally. Companies adjust production schedules flexibly based on inventory levels, demonstrating strong willingness to reduce output and support prices. Cost side: Upstream raw material prices have seen more declines than increases due to weak production and sales. Demand side: Across most regions in China, high temperatures this year have not yet become常态, while frequent rainfall has led to sluggish domestic demand. Export markets have experienced significant declines since March, impacted by rising freight costs from the U.S.-Iran conflict and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. With the June ceasefire memorandum between the U.S. and Iran easing geopolitical tensions, coupled with the arrival of the peak cooling season in the Northern Hemisphere, overseas restocking demand is expected to materialize, leading to a gradual recovery in export markets. Additionally, the U.S. and U.K. have postponed HFC reduction plans, significantly enhancing the certainty of the HFC export cycle. Overall, supported by rigid quota-supplied backing and gradually recovering seasonal demand, the refrigerant market will maintain a high-level operating trend.

ChinaIOL
Fluorinated polymers: Cost support weakens, supply-demand pressures rise, prices fluctuate downward
This week, the fluoropolymer market faced rising supply-demand pressure due to high-load production at factories, compounded by a decline in cost benchmarks. Mainstream product prices experienced a notable rebound. On the cost side, upstream core raw material hydrofluoric acid will see a confirmed price cut of 300 yuan per ton next month, which will help alleviate terminal cost pressures. On the supply side, increasing inventories at production enterprises and sluggish shipments have led to persistently weakening bargaining power. On the demand side, relatively weak demand across downstream sectors, though with active trading in certain applications, resulted in most end-users opting for demand-based procurement rather than stockpiling during market volatility. Overall, under the combined impact of loosening cost benchmarks and rising supply-demand pressure, the fluoropolymer market will face short-term downward fluctuations amid heightened wait-and-see sentiment.

Weekly News

01Announcement of Jiangsu Aohong's 20,300 Tons/Year Refrigerant Capacity Upgrading Project
Recently, Aohong (Taicang) Environmental Materials Co., Ltd.'s "Technical Transformation Project for Introducing Advanced Equipment and Adjusting Product Structure of Novel Environmentally Friendly Refrigerants" has entered the full public notice phase before submitting the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for approval. The project optimizes product structure by introducing advanced production equipment, focusing on upgrading to environmentally friendly refrigerants without adding new construction land for the factory. Upon completion of the technical transformation, the total annual production capacity of refrigerants across the entire plant will be核定为20,300 tons. The company's existing operations primarily involve refrigerant blending and packaging, covering a full range of categories including R22, R134a, R410A, and R407C. This technical transformation aligns with domestic refrigerant substitution policies, further tilting toward low-GWP environmentally friendly products.
 

02Announcement on the Allocation of HFC Quotas for Quantitative Inhaler Propellants in the United States
Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act), the EPA established the HFC Allocation and Trading Program. The "Specific Use Quota Review and Update Rule" enacted in 2025 stipulates: An annual reservation of 1 million MTEVe (Metric Ton Equivalent Value) of HFC quotas is set aside specifically for the use of quantitative metered-dose inhalers (MDI) as propellants. These reserved quotas are withheld from the general pool allocation effective from October 1, 2026. The allocated quotas are only valid for imports and production within 2026, with an expiration date of December 31, 2026.

03Arkema North America's PVDF Expansion Project Successfully Goes Into Production, Boosting Capacity by 15%
On June 24, Arkema announced the successful launch of its North American PVDF capacity expansion project, achieving a 15% increase in production capacity. This expansion project at the Calvert base in Kentucky further solidifies Arkema Group's leading position in the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) market. The investment project was publicly disclosed in February 2025 and has now been completed on schedule, with overall expenditures remaining within the initial budget. According to Arkema's 2025 Annual and Sustainability Report, the production line will commence operations in April 2026. The commissioning of this expanded production line will meet the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS), as well as the accelerated expansion of data centers requiring cables and infrastructure construction, while also addressing the increasing demand in the semiconductor market.

04Announcement of Zhonghao Morning Glory's Meltable Fluororesin Modification Project
On June 22, the first public notice regarding the environmental impact assessment of the Meltable Fluoropolymer Modification Project by China National Fluorine Chemical (Zigong) Co., Ltd. was released. The project is located within the existing premises of the Sichuan Southern New Materials Chemical Park in Yantan High-Tech Industrial Park, Zigong City, Sichuan Province. It involves partial modifications to the post-polymerization treatment systems of the FEP and PFA production lines, utilizing the existing FEP/PFA integrated facility. The project will add key process equipment such as an ultra-pure water system and end-group treatment system, establishing an annual production capacity of 3,500 tons of PFA.