IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: Refrigerant Market Maintains Strong Performance, Fluoropolymer Supply-Demand Imbalance Stands Out in Off-Season

ChinaIOL
Refrigerant
Cost and demand resonance continues to drive strong performance in refrigerants
This week, the refrigerant market continued its strong performance, with prices remaining firm. Weekly market highlights: Supply side: Annual production is rigidly constrained by quotas, with mainstream factories reducing output to maintain prices, driven primarily by a firming mindset. Cost side: Upstream sources of fluorite powder and hydrofluoric acid remain tight, and price hikes are expected next month, with refrigerant cost support likely to further strengthen. Demand side: Traditional refrigeration and air conditioning sectors are in peak season, creating rigid demand as a base, coupled with steady growth in demand from the new energy sector, resulting in strong overall demand support. Recent persistent extreme heatwaves in multiple regions domestically, along with concurrent heatwaves in several overseas countries, have provided a strong boost to short-term refrigerant demand. Widespread extreme weather conditions globally are expected to extend the peak refrigeration season, sustaining short-term refrigerant demand. However, it is worth noting that the persistence of high temperatures remains uncertain, and if temperatures阶段性回落, short-term price-hike momentum may weaken. Overall, the combined benefits from both cost and demand sides will support the refrigerant market's continued strong performance.

ChinaIOL
Fluorinated polymers:
Supply-demand imbalances are prominent in the off-season market, with mainstream product prices under pressure but remaining stable for now
This week, increased plant maintenance in the fluorinated polymer market helps alleviate supply-demand pressure, with mainstream product prices remaining stable amid pressure. On the cost side, upstream core raw materials such as fluorite powder, hydrofluoric acid, and chloroform are expected to see strong price increases, driving an overall upward shift in cost levels. On the supply side, manufacturers, constrained by inventory pressure, have reduced production loads and increased maintenance. On the demand side, high temperatures and the arrival of the rainy season have pushed market demand into an industry off-season, with relatively weak demand across various segments. End-use enterprises primarily adopt demand-based procurement strategies. Notably, high-end niche sectors show structural growth, with industries like new energy, advanced semiconductor processes, and AI computing power driving demand expansion for high-value-added fluorinated materials. Premium products such as electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid, high-purity fluorinated specialty gases, semiconductor-grade PFA and PTFE, and AI data center liquid cooling fluorinated fluids exhibit significantly better supply-demand dynamics compared to commodity categories. Overall, mainstream products face rising cost pressures and supply-demand strains, while high-end fluorinated materials benefit from faster growth in AI and semiconductor demand, maintaining relatively resilient prices or even showing upward trends.

Weekly news

01Quzhou Jushen's annual packaging of 45000 tons of new environmentally friendly refrigerants and other projects have been approved
On July 15th, the Intelligent Manufacturing New City Branch of Quzhou Ecological Environment Bureau approved the environmental impact assessment documents for the annual packaging of 45000 tons of new environmentally friendly refrigerants and 13000 tons of high-end cleaning agents production line renovation project of Zhejiang Jushen New Material Technology Co., Ltd. and made them public. The project has an investment of 13.4222 million yuan, utilizing the existing production plant to implement flexible production for the new environmentally friendly refrigeration production line, high-end cleaning agent production line, and filling production line. The production operation time will be adjusted appropriately, and the original high-end cleaning agent filling production line will be changed from canned to barreled. Two new automatic filling production lines will be added. After the project is completed, it will have an annual production capacity of 45000 tons of new environmentally friendly refrigerants and 13000 tons of high-end cleaning agents.

02Shandong Aofan's annual production of 10000 tons of R1234yf project announced before approval
On July 14th, the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Shandong Aofan New Materials Co., Ltd.'s annual production of 10000 tons of green refrigerant project was publicly announced before approval. The total investment of this project is 380 million yuan, and it is planned to build a green refrigerant production plant and supporting facilities with an annual output of 10000 tons. Hydrogen and hexafluoropropene will be used as raw materials, and self-developed catalysts will be used to generate tetrafluoropropene (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene, or R1234yf) through two-step hydrogenation reaction and two-step dehydroHF reaction. The production of tetrafluoropropene will be 10000 tons/year, and the by-product of 30% hydrofluoric acid will be 12500 tons/year.

03The second public announcement of the environmental impact assessment for the 15000 ton PVDF project produced annually by Ruyuan Dongyang
On July 14th, the second public announcement of the environmental impact assessment of the 15000 ton PVDF project of Ruyuan Dongyangguang Fluororesin Co., Ltd. was released on relevant websites. The project has an investment of 200 million yuan. After implementation, 15000 tons/year of PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), 17000 tons/year of R142b (1,1-difluoro-1-chloroethane), and 16500 tons/year of VDF (vinylidene fluoride) will be added. All R142b and VDF produced will be used as raw materials for PVDF production and will not be sold. After the completion of the renovation and expansion, the total production capacity of the entire plant will be 50000 tons/year PVDF, 80000 tons/year R142b (raw material, not for sale), and 55000 tons/year VDF (raw material, not for sale).

04Guizhou Sino New Materials Annual Production of 1500 Tons Perfluoropolyether Project Announcement
On July 15th, the People's Government of Qianxi City released the second public announcement of the environmental impact assessment of the first phase of the fluorine material integration project (1500 tons of perfluoropolyether and fluorine liquid), and the draft of the environmental impact assessment for the new high-end fluorine chemical project of Guizhou Sino New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. was officially released to the public. The investment is 284.56 million yuan, with a construction scale of 600 tons/year of industrial grade perfluoropolyether 1, 500 tons/year of industrial grade perfluoropolyether 2, 200 tons/year of electronic grade perfluoropolyether, 200 tons/year of fluorine liquid, 550 tons/year of fluorine nitrogen mixture, and a by-product of 279.78 tons/year of calcium fluoride.