Honeywell Opens U.S. Plant to Make Advanced A/C Refrigerant

Honeywell International Inc. has begun commercial operations at a facility in Geismar, La., to make HFO-1234yf, an ultra-clean refrigerant for automotive air conditioning systems. The facility is the world’s largest of its kind.

Co-developed by Honeywell and DuPont, the new refrigerant has a global warming potential rating of less than 1 compared with 1,300 for the R-134a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant it replaces. Honeywell says about 20% of all new cars now use the new material, which it markets as Solstice yf. The company expects that ratio will double by the end of this year.

HFO-1234yf debuted at the beginning of 2013 in Europe under an EU directive amid controversy. Most carmakers accepted the material, touted as environmentally “cleaner” than carbon dioxide, after it was extensively tested by multiple labs. But Daimler AG initially refused, claiming the material could catch fire and release toxic fumes in a crash.

Critics called Daimler’s simulated crash test contrived and unrealistic. Honeywell and Dupont noted that other vehicle fluids, such as engine and transmission oil, were far more flammable. The EU sued Daimler for noncompliance, and France briefly registrations of Mercedes-Benz cars that continued to use R-134a refrigerant. Daimler dropped its boycott in October 2015.