IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: Refrigerants continue to rise, fluorinated polymers hover weakly

One week market
Refrigerant: tight supply balance combined with positive domestic and international demand, there is still an expected increase in the market
This week, the demand for refrigerants both domestically and internationally has improved, and prices continue to rise. Market characteristics of the week: Upstream raw materials such as fluorite powder and hydrofluoric acid have weak production and sales, and prices are weak to maintain stable operation; The overall production and sales of other raw material products are still acceptable, with fluctuating prices. However, the current refrigerant market prices are mainly affected by supply and demand, and small fluctuations in costs have little impact on their prices. Since the implementation of quota production for HFC refrigerants in 2024, the supply side industry has been highly concentrated, with discourse power concentrated in several mainstream factories with larger quotas, such as Juhua, Sanmei, Sinochem, Dongyue, Yonghe, Dongyangguang, and Meilan. The relatively tight supply has led to a strong reluctance to sell among factories, and the phenomenon of "production based on sales" is widespread. Due to the significant increase in downstream air conditioning plant production in the first quarter and the steady increase in overseas demand, the demand for mainstream refrigerants is expected to be good. Overall, under the dual positive factors of continued tight supply and improved demand, it is expected that the future market for refrigerants will continue to rise.

Fluorinated polymers: supply growth slows down, price bottom consolidation
This week, the fluoropolymer market remained weakly stable, with mainstream product prices hovering weakly at low levels. The current market characteristics are as follows: the industry has a large supply base, the expansion of mainstream products is slowing down, the overall capacity utilization rate is low, and the recovery of downstream demand is relatively slow. Although factories have a strong willingness to raise prices, the downstream purchasing atmosphere is weak, and hoarding is not active. Most fluoropolymer products lack the driving force for price increases. From the perspective of the industrial chain, the prices of upstream basic raw materials and intermediate individual products remain stable and fluctuating, making it difficult to form upward support on the cost side; Secondly, although downstream demand industries are widely used, the growth rate of most industrial chains is slow, and the actual demand for fluorine materials is limited. In addition, with the global economy's "low growth rate normal", the weak demand in traditional industries 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, with mainstream product prices accumulating momentum at the bottom. In the future, it will gradually improve with the recovery of the demand market.

Weekly news
01
The first phase of the fluorine chemical project of Sanmei subsidiary is expected to undergo trial production by the end of the year
Recently, Changshou Rongmei reported that the first phase of the newly built fluorine chemical integration project of Chongqing Jialihe New Material Technology Co., Ltd. will start construction at the end of August 2024, and is expected to be mechanically completed in October 2025, with chemical feeding conditions ready by the end of December. The first phase of the project plans to invest approximately 1.1 billion yuan, using the latest Japanese Asahi Kasei electrolysis process, supporting domestic leading core equipment and international first-line brands, to construct a 300000 tons/year ion membrane caustic soda and supporting project for comprehensive utilization of waste salt. It is expected to achieve trial production by the end of 2025; The first and second phases plan to invest approximately 500 million yuan to construct 50000 tons/year of R152a, 15000 tons/year of trifluoroacetic acid, 5000 tons/year of ethyl trifluoroacetate, 25500 tons/year of F113a, and supporting facilities for public works. It is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2026.
02
Environmental Impact Assessment Announcement for the Fluorite Chemical Supporting Fluorite Powder Quality Improvement Project of Jinshi Resources Subsidiary
On February 17th, the Damao United Banner Branch of Baotou Ecological Environment Bureau plans to accept and publicize the fluorite powder upgrading project of Inner Mongolia Jin'ebo Fluorine Chemical Co., Ltd. The total investment of this project is 18.803 million yuan, and it is planned to build a 600t/d fluorite chemical supporting fluorite powder upgrading production line. The annual processing capacity will be 180000 tons of fluorite secondary fine powder with a grade of ≥ 80%, producing 151874 tons of fluorite fine powder with a grade of about 92%. As a fluorite chemical supporting project, the fluorite fine powder (CaF2 ≥ 92%) produced will not be sold. It is reported that the company's flexible joint production of 360000 tons/year anhydrous aluminum fluoride and 180000 tons/year AHF projects (Phase I and Phase II projects) have completed environmental protection acceptance work. The demand for fluorite powder in Phase II projects is 800000 tons/year (including 480000 tons/year in Phase I and 320000 tons/year in Phase II).
03
Juhua Corporation plans to increase its capital and control Gansu Juhua to promote high-performance new material projects
On February 18th, Zhejiang Juhua Co., Ltd. plans to jointly increase the registered capital of Gansu Juhua New Materials Co., Ltd. from 100 million yuan to 6 billion yuan with its controlling shareholder Juhua Group Co., Ltd. Among them, Juhua Corporation subscribed a capital of 4.20 billion yuan, accounting for 70%; And Juhua Group subscribed a capital of 1.8 billion yuan, accounting for 30%. It is reported that the project plans to build facilities with an annual production capacity of 35000 tons of polytetrafluoroethylene (R1234yf, multi process route), 30000 tons of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and 10000 tons of perfluoroethylene propylene (FEP), as well as supporting facilities with an annual production capacity of 900000 tons of ion membrane caustic soda, 460000 tons of monochloromethane, 420000 tons of methane chloride, 400000 tons of calcium chloride, and 198000 tons of difluorochloromethane.

04
Environmental Impact Assessment Announcement for Jiujiang Tianci 3000 ton Organic Fluorine Product Project
On February 19th, the Hukou Ecological Environment Bureau of Jiujiang City accepted and published the "Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Jiujiang Tianci High tech Materials Co., Ltd.'s Annual Production of 3000 Tons of Functional Organic Fluorine Products Project". The total investment of the project is 63.843 million yuan, and it is planned to build a 3000 ton perfluorohexane production line in two phases. The first phase will produce 1500t/a perfluorohexane, 128.97t/a hexafluoropropylene trimer, and 940.217t/a by-product sodium chloride.