IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: The refrigerant market transactions have improved, and mainstream product prices continue to rise

One week market
Refrigerant: Quota system is conducive to optimizing the supply and demand pattern of the industry. Mainstream product prices continue to rise
This week, the refrigerant market has seen a turnaround in transactions, with prices of multiple products experiencing an upward trend. Market characteristics of the week: Upstream raw materials such as fluorite powder and hydrofluoric acid have light production and sales, with weak prices and stable operation; Affected by the improvement of downstream production and sales, the price of tetrachloroethylene has risen narrowly, while the overall production and sales of other raw material products are weak, with price fluctuations. However, the current refrigerant market price is mainly affected by supply and demand, and small cost fluctuations have little impact on its price. During the week, upstream and downstream production and sales were still in the recovery stage, with low inventory levels in various factories and limited quotas for the year. There was a strong mentality of reluctance to sell and a strong upward trend, with prices for many products increasing by 500-1000 yuan/ton. Currently, the industry has a low operating rate, overall supply is tight, and mainstream refrigerant products such as R32 R134a、R410A， There is an expected increase in demand, and it is expected that under the supply-demand game, the refrigerant market will maintain a stable and upward trend.

Fluorinated polymers: oversupply of mainstream products, weak traditional demand, new demand explosion still takes time
This week, the fluorine-containing polymer market continued its weak recovery, with loose supply in the industry and relatively slow demand recovery. Although factories have a strong willingness to raise prices, downstream procurement atmosphere still purchases according to demand, and hoarding is not active. Most fluorine-containing polymer products are operating weakly and steadily. From the perspective of the industrial chain, upstream raw materials remain stable and volatile, with a strong willingness to explore price increases. However, the overall vitality of the industrial chain is lacking, and actual demand is difficult to support a rebound in the market. In 2025, the expansion of mainstream product production capacity will significantly slow down, and the supply will enter the stage of digesting excess. The demand side will also be limited by the "low growth rate normal" of the global economy, and the weak market with oversupply will be temporarily extended. New demands such as: AI+、 It will take time for the demand for new productivity fields such as data centers and cloud computing to explode. Based on the above prediction, the short-term market for fluorinated polymers will still face the dilemma of overcapacity, and mainstream product prices will continue to consolidate at a low level.

Weekly news

01In 2024, China's total exports of fluorite reached 1.347 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 32%
The total export volume of fluorite with a content of ≤ 97% in China from January to December 2024 was 190200 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 2.7%; The total import volume was 1.315 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 31.4%. The total export volume of fluorite with a content greater than 97% was 54600 tons, with a year-on-year decrease of 70.0% in exports; The total import volume was 33000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 99.6%, and the total import reached a historic high. From a national perspective, China's imports of low-grade fluorite mainly come from Mongolia (89.3%), while imports of high-grade fluorite mainly come from Mongolia (48.2%) and Zambia (45.9%); Low grade fluorite exports mainly go to Indonesia (89.3%), Japan (15.5%), and the Netherlands (10.7%), while high-grade fluorite exports mainly go to India (52.4%), Japan (20.9%), and the Netherlands (18.3%).

02Yonghe Group plans to raise funds to construct projects such as Baotou Yonghe New Energy Materials Industrial Park
On February 7th, Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigeration Co., Ltd. obtained registration approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for issuing stocks to specific targets. The company plans to raise funds for the Baotou Yonghe New Materials Co., Ltd. New Energy Materials Industrial Park project, among other purposes. It is reported that the Baotou Yonghe New Energy Materials Industrial Park project will construct 120000 tons/year R22 plant, 60000 tons/year TFE plant, 48000 tons/year HFP plant, and 50000 tons/year HCC-240fa plant as intermediate products, providing integrated support for downstream products such as HFO-1234yf, HFO-1234ze, HCFO-1233zd, and perfluorohexane. The project will commence in April 2023 with a construction period of 48 months.

03Environmental Impact Assessment Announcement for Quzhou Huanxin New Year Production 5200 Tons Fluorosilicon Material Technical Renovation Project
On February 13th, the Quzhou Ecological Environment Bureau accepted the environmental impact assessment permit application materials for the annual production of 5200 tons of fluorosilicon materials renovation project of Quzhou Huanxin Fluorine Materials Co., Ltd. The project plans to invest 27 million yuan, and after the implementation of this renovation project, a new gas-phase fluorination process will be used to produce 5000t/a of trifluoropropene; The original approval has approved the implementation of technological transformation for the 200t/a fluorosilicone rubber product production line in the unfinished 1000t/a fluorosilicone rubber project. After the implementation of this project, the fluorosilicone rubber production capacity will be 200t/a.

04Environmental Impact Assessment Announcement for Jiangsu Blue Planet's Annual Production of 60000 Tons LiFSI Project

On February 12th, the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Changzhou City accepted and published the Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Jiangsu Blue Planet Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.'s newly built project with an annual output of 20000 tons of high energy storage lithium battery materials and 10000 tons of semiconductor cleaning agent electronic new materials, as well as the newly built project with an annual output of 60000 tons of bis (fluorosulfonyl) imide lithium battery special materials. The total investment of the project is 109 million yuan, and it is planned to build an annual output of 20000 tons of high energy storage lithium battery materials (2,2-difluoroethyl acetate), 10000 tons of semiconductor cleaning agent (intermediate perfluoroether total production of 9069.7t/a, of which 9050.9t/a is used for the production of semiconductor cleaning agent, 18.8t/a is used as raw material for bis (fluorosulfonyl) imide lithium), and 60000 tons of bis (fluorosulfonyl) imide lithium). Special materials for lithium imine batteries.