IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: Refrigerants continue to oscillate at a high level, and some products of fluorinated polymers rebound narrowly

One week market
Refrigerant: Quota exhausted, stacked processing plants generally reduce production, market oscillates at high levels
This week, the quota of refrigerant factories has been exhausted, and the market is fluctuating at a high level. Market characteristics of the week: With the northern region entering winter, the supply of upstream basic raw material fluorite powder continues to be tight, and prices remain stable; However, due to the weakened demand for downstream refrigerants, the price of hydrofluoric acid has decreased narrowly; The prices of other raw material products have fluctuated slightly, while 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 HFC refrigerant factories have a relatively small quota surplus and operate at a low level. Most factories will enter a shutdown state in December, and the overall supply of goods will continue to be tight. Currently, the main focus is on delivering long-term orders. Due to high refrigerant prices and a strong wait-and-see atmosphere in the retail market, overall production and sales are weak. As the end of the year approaches, due to the impact of export licenses and longer shipping schedules, refrigerant foreign trade orders are unable to be delivered in time and are generally stagnant. It is expected that the market will maintain a tight supply situation in the short term, with factories being reluctant to sell, controlling orders, and suspending quotations being common. In the future, refrigerant prices will fluctuate at high levels.

Fluorinated polymers: cost increase, production reduction by stacking factories, narrow rebound in prices of some products
This week, most products in the fluoropolymer market continued to have a loose supply pattern, and some products rebounded at low prices due to the decrease in factory operating load and the rise in raw material prices. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the price of fluorite powder, an upstream basic raw material, continues to remain strong, while the price of hydrofluoric acid has experienced a narrow decline but remains at a high level. The price increase of core raw materials directly leads to an increase in the cost of all downstream fluorine chemical products. Due to the pattern of supply growth faster than demand growth in the entire market not being effectively improved and alleviated, the trend of increasing quantity and decreasing price remains the main tone of the market, and the market remains sluggish for a long time. From the demand side, fluoropolymers, as high-performance materials, are mainly used in industries such as national defense and military, aerospace, semiconductor, electronics and electrical, automotive, and chemical. It will take time for these application fields to recover globally, so the excess production capacity of the fluoropolymer market needs to be digested and will continue to operate at a low level.

Weekly news
01
Jiangsu Kunshan Lijiubang plans to invest in the construction of 30000 tons of fourth generation refrigerants and organic silicon series products
On November 27th, the organic silicon refrigerant project jointly introduced by the Jiujiang Municipal Government Liaison Office in Shanghai and Yongxiu County was officially signed and settled. The organic silicon refrigerant project signed this time is located in Xinghuo Industrial Park, with an investment of 1 billion yuan from Jiangsu Kunshan Lijiubang Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. It can produce 30000 tons of fourth generation refrigerants and organic silicon series products annually. The first phase of fixed assets investment shall not be less than 400 million yuan, the annual output value after completion and operation shall reach more than 670 million yuan, and the annual tax payment shall be more than 12 million yuan.
02
Jinshi Resources: The Mongolian project plans to transport a small amount of 40% grade ore back to China by the end of the year
Recently, Jinshi Resources stated in the third quarter 2024 performance briefing that the Mongolian project will transport a small amount of intermediate products before the end of this year, mainly ore with a grade of about 40% after processing, to our nearby subsidiary's beneficiation plant for processing; The company's anhydrous hydrogen fluoride products this year are mainly in the process of gradual debugging and ramp up, and the production capacity has not been fully released. In addition, the unit consumption of raw materials and energy is still unstable. The target unit consumption of fluorite powder is 2.6-2.7 tons, and the unit consumption of sulfuric acid is 2.9 tons. Currently, the actual unit consumption is higher than this.
03
Environmental Impact Assessment Announcement for Jiangxi Liwen High end Fluoropolymer Renovation Project
On November 8th, the environmental impact assessment of the high-end fluorinated polymer renovation project of Jiangxi Liwen Chemical Co., Ltd. was publicly announced for the first time. After the completion of the project renovation, the production capacity of polytetrafluoroethylene (PCTFE) will be 1000 tons/year, fluorocarbon resin (FEVE) will be 1000 tons/year (converted to 100), dispersed polytetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE) will be 4000 tons/year, dispersed concentrate will be 500 tons/year, suspended polytetrafluoroethylene resin (PTFE) will be 1500 tons/year, and perfluoroethylene propylene resin (FEP) will be 2000 tons/year.
04
Completion acceptance of PVDF project in Yonghe, Inner Mongolia
On November 25th, the environmental protection acceptance of the fluorine chemical project completed by Inner Mongolia Yonghe Fluorine Chemical Co., Ltd. was announced. The scope of this acceptance is the construction content of the fourth phase of the fluorine chemical project: a production line and auxiliary facilities with an annual output of 7000 tons of VDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), 6000 tons of PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), and 40000 tons of calcium chloride. The project implemented environmental impact assessment and the "three simultaneities" system, implemented and optimized the environmental protection measures and approval requirements proposed in the environmental impact report. According to the Interim Measures for the Management of Environmental Protection Acceptance upon Completion of Construction Projects, the project meets the conditions for environmental protection acceptance upon completion, and the acceptance team agrees that the project has passed the environmental protection acceptance upon completion.