IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: Low year-end quota surplus in refrigerant factories to maintain tight supply in the short term

One week market
Refrigerant: Near the end of the year, the factory quota is low and the factory controls the acceptance of orders. The quotation is firm
This week, the refrigerant market continued to have good production and sales, and refrigerant prices remained firm. Market characteristics of the week: The supply of upstream basic raw material fluorite powder is still tight, and prices are stable; Hydrofluoric acid production and sales are average, and prices have not been adjusted yet. The prices of other raw material products have fluctuated slightly, and the cost of refrigerants has not fluctuated much. From a product perspective, the quota for R22 has been exhausted, and most factories have suspended accepting new orders. Some factories that have accepted orders have offered firm prices; The mainstream factories for HFC refrigerants have limited quota reserves and have maintenance plans at the end of the year, resulting in overall tight supply. Currently, the main focus is on delivering long-term orders. Due to high refrigerant prices, the demand for after-sales services has not yet started. Approaching the end of the year, due to the impact of export licenses and longer shipping schedules, refrigerant foreign trade orders have stagnated. It is expected that the market will maintain a tight supply situation in the short term, with factories being reluctant to sell and controlling orders, and refrigerant prices continuing to operate at high levels in the future.

Fluorinated polymers: rapid supply growth leads to volume increase and price drop, hovering at low levels for a long time
This week, the fluoropolymer market was mainly affected by loose supply and weak demand, with prices fluctuating at a low level after a long period of consolidation. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the high prices of upstream basic raw materials such as fluorite powder and hydrofluoric acid directly lead to an increase in the cost of downstream high-end fluorine chemical products. However, the prominent supply-demand contradiction has resulted in weak price increases for fluorine material products. In addition, the expansion of the industry scale has led to an increase in quantity and a decrease in price, which is another characteristic of current fluorine polymer products. It is worth noting that as high-performance materials, the demand market for fluorinated polymers is closely related to industries such as national defense and military, aerospace, semiconductors, electronics and electrical, automotive, and chemical. Only when these application fields recover globally can the supply and demand relationship be truly improved, and the polymer market rebound and improve. In the short term, it will continue to digest excess capacity at a low level and operate poorly.

Weekly news
01
Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Increase the number of applications for quota adjustment of different varieties of HFCs in 2025
Recently, a person in charge of the Atmospheric Environment Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment stated in a Q&A session with reporters that 2025 is the second year of total control of HFCs, and there is still uncertainty in the development of China's HFC production and use industry. In the future, the market demand for certain varieties of HFCs may fluctuate with the accelerated phase out of HCFCs. On the basis of ensuring the achievement of annual performance targets, the Notice clarifies that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will discuss and agree on a distribution plan for the unallocated portion of the total HFC quota based on the progress of performance work and the needs of relevant industries. At the same time, the number of applications for quota adjustment of different varieties of HFCs has been increased, further increasing the flexibility of production quota and internal production quota adjustment, and ensuring the demand of upstream and downstream industry enterprises.
02
Aohong's 10000 ton refrigerant and propellant mixing and packaging project has been approved
On June 14, 2024, the People's Government of Gaoqing County issued an approval opinion on the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the 10000 ton/year refrigerant and propellant mixing and packaging project of Aohong (Shandong) Environmental Protection Materials Co., Ltd. The total investment of this project is 500 million yuan. After completion, it will produce an annual output of 1600 tons of pharmaceutical excipient propellants and 50 tons of hydrocarbon mixed refrigerants; Annual production capacity of 5800 tons of propane, 1000 tons of isobutane, 1000 tons of pentane and other products.
03
Funolin Company Achieves Final Victory in PVDF Patent Infringement Dispute
On November 14th, the official website of Funolin announced that after a long period of legal proceedings, Zhejiang Funolin Chemical New Materials Co., Ltd. and Dongguan Funolin New Materials Co., Ltd. have won the final judgment support of the Supreme People's Court of China in their invention patent dispute with Solvay Polymer Italy Co., Ltd., confirming that their products do not constitute an infringement of Solvay's patent rights.
04
The acceptance of the 10000 ton PVDF project by Putailai and Dongyangguang's joint venture subsidiary has been passed
On October 12th, the environmental protection acceptance of the 10000 tons/year PVDF and 18000 tons/year R142b projects completed by Ruyuan Dongyangguang Fluororesin Co., Ltd. was announced. It is reported that the project, Ruyuan Dongyangguang Fluororesin Co., Ltd., plans to invest 731.72 million yuan to construct 10000 tons/year PVDF and 18000 tons/year R142b projects in the New Materials Industrial Park of Ruyuan Economic Development Zone, Guangdong Province (all of which are for self use and not for sale), and cancel the 5000 tons/year PVDF production line in the second phase of the project. After the project is put into operation, the entire plant will have a production capacity of 15000 tons/year of PVDF.