IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: Foreign trade orders to be initiated, domestic air conditioning plant demand as the main factor. Refrigerant market to remain stable before the new year

One week market
Refrigerant: Foreign trade orders are waiting to be initiated, domestic air conditioning factories are the main demand, and the market is temporarily stable before the new year
This week, the production and sales of refrigerants in the market were relatively weak, but the tight supply supported the market's temporary stable operation. Market characteristics of the week: weak demand for upstream raw materials such as fluorite powder and hydrofluoric acid, with prices temporarily stable; Other raw material products are affected by weak demand, with prices falling more and rising less. However, the current refrigerant market prices are mainly influenced by supply and demand, and cost fluctuations have little impact on their prices. Entering 2025, the quota for each fluorinated refrigerant product will come into effect for the new year. R32 and R410A will be mainly supplied to air conditioning plants in the domestic market, while normal quotations will resume in the foreign trade market. However, due to the impact of the license not yet issued, normal deliveries are expected to resume gradually in the middle of the month; Due to the relatively high prices of refrigerants, there is a strong wait-and-see atmosphere in the retail market. At the same time, some factories have recently resumed production of R32, and most factories' R134a units are expected to resume operation after the year, resulting in a continued tight supply situation. In addition, during the Spring Festival period, factors such as transportation restrictions and holiday arrangements will further affect overall production and sales volume. It is expected that refrigerant prices will remain stable and fluctuate before the year, but in the long run, limited supply and strong demand will support price exploration within the year.

Fluorinated polymers: Maintaining weak market stability before the new year and low inventory at the terminal is beneficial for maintaining market stability and improvement after the new year
This week, there was little change in the supply and demand of the fluorinated polymer market at the end of the year, and the prices of mainstream products remained stable overall. The characteristics of the weekly market are as follows: as the Spring Festival approaches, downstream product processing enterprises gradually take a break, resulting in low inventory and significant reduction in actual orders in the terminal market. In addition, the stable operation of upstream raw materials and individual products determines that the overall upstream and downstream of the industrial chain is relatively weak and stable. Optimistic estimates suggest that the low inventory market may experience a surge in orders after the new year. Conventional demand is affected by the "low growth normal" of the global economy and has not undergone significant changes. New demand may erupt due to the rapid development of new quality productivity such as AI, data centers, and cloud computing. Based on the above prediction, the short-term market for fluorinated polymers is expected to remain stable and operate in a wait-and-see manner, and the market is expected to remain stable and improve after the year.

Weekly news
01
Zhejiang Quhua Fluorochemical plans to add 80000 tons of mixed refrigerant production capacity
On December 30th, the Quzhou Ecological Environment Bureau accepted the environmental impact assessment permit application materials for the 160kt/a mixed refrigerant blending technical renovation project of Zhejiang Quhua Fluorochemical Co., Ltd. and made them public. The total investment of the project is 2.6 million yuan, including an environmental protection investment of 200000 yuan. The project products adopt a mixed process, and on the basis of the original 80kt/a mixed refrigerant product production capacity, an additional 80kt/a mixed refrigerant product production capacity is added (R410A expands by 57500 tons, R404A expands by 6700 tons, R507A expands by 12900 tons, R407C expands by 2900 tons), ultimately forming a production capacity of 160kt/a mixed refrigerant products.
02
Xinyangfeng plans to install 30000 tons/year AHF and 10000 tons/year electronic hydrofluoric acid
On the evening of December 30th, Xinyangfeng announced the adoption of the proposal on the company's plan to sign a cooperation agreement with the Yiling District People's Government of Yichang City and the Yichang High tech Industrial Development Zone Management Committee for the phosphorus based new material circular economy industrial park project. The project is located in the Shujiazui area of Yichang High tech Zone, with a total investment of about 9.6 billion yuan. The first phase investment is about 5.2 billion yuan to construct products such as 1.5 million tons/year beneficiation, 800000 tons/year sulfuric acid plant, and 300000 tons/year phosphoric acid plant; The second phase plan involves an investment of approximately 4.4 billion yuan to construct a 1.5 million ton/year beneficiation plant, an 800000 ton/year sulfuric acid plant, a 30000 ton/year anhydrous hydrogen fluoride plant, and a 10000 ton/year electronic grade hydrofluoric acid product. The second phase project will be promoted in a timely manner based on the implementation of the first phase project, and specific cooperation details will be agreed upon separately by the three parties.
03
Shenzhen Xinxing Subsidiary Terminates Transfer of Lithium Hexafluorophosphate Project
On the evening of December 27th, Shenzhen Xinxing announced that the company has agreed to terminate the transfer of 100% equity of Ganzhou Songyan New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. (the target company) by its wholly-owned subsidiary. The company's asset transfer this time is the sale of some lithium hexafluorophosphate project assets, with a transfer price of 160 million yuan. Currently, the transferee has paid 40 million yuan, but has not paid the remaining transfer price as agreed in the agreement. Previously, 100% equity of the target company had been transferred to the transferee Jiangxi Huikai Chemical Co., Ltd. (Huikai Chemical). However, Shenzhen Xinxing stated that the relevant assets, financial information, seals, etc. have not been substantially delivered, so terminating this asset transfer does not involve returning the relevant assets. Both parties agree that Huikai Chemical will deduct 1 million yuan from the 40 million yuan paid in advance as compensation, and the remaining amount will be refunded.

04
Weifang Aotong Pharmaceutical's 2700 ton Fluorinated Ethylene Carbonate (FEC) Expansion Project Approved
On January 2nd, the Ecological Environment Bureau of Weifang City announced the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for the expansion of Fluorinated Ethylene Carbonate (FEC) production and the renovation of the Guanine plant project of Weifang Aotong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The total investment of the project is 100 million yuan, and after completion, it will form an annual production capacity of 2700 tons of Fluorinated Ethylene Carbonate and 1200 tons of Guanine. The project construction period is 6 months, and it is planned to start construction in August 2024 and be fully completed by January 2025.