IOL Fluorochemical Weekly Report: High Gas Density Fluoropolymers in the Refrigerant Industry Slowly Improve and Improve

One week market
Refrigerant: High growth in air conditioning and automotive production and sales supports industry to maintain high morale
This week, the supply of refrigerants continued to be tight, and prices continued to rise. Market characteristics of the week: Upstream raw material fluorite powder has tight prices, hydrofluoric acid production and sales are good, and prices are temporarily stable; The overall production and sales of other raw material products are good, with prices rising more and falling less. However, the current refrigerant market prices are mainly affected by supply and demand, and small fluctuations in costs have little impact on their prices. At present, the concentration of the refrigerant supply industry is high, and the discourse power is concentrated in several mainstream factories with relatively large quotas, such as Juhua, Sanmei, Sinochem, Dongyue, Yonghe, Dongyangguang, and Meilan. The limited quotas this year have led to a strong reluctance to sell among factories, and the phenomenon of "production is determined by sales" is common. The industry operating rate remains at 70-80%. In terms of products, R22 has a relatively rigid demand but with a quota reduction of more than 30000 tons this year, the huge air conditioning inventory supports future demand, and prices are mainly stable with an upward trend; R32 and R410A are mainly supplied to air conditioning plants, followed by meeting export demand. Air conditioning production and sales have maintained a significant year-on-year growth, with a clear trend of tight supply and rising prices; R134a is mainly supplied to downstream car companies, and automobile production and sales also maintain high growth. The strong demand supports the continued exploration of R134a prices. Overall, the tight supply of refrigerants in the market coupled with strong downstream demand will support the continued upward trend in the future.

Fluorinated polymers: cost driven TFE series sees general increase, VDF series continues weak stability and improves
This week, the prices of TFE series and HFP series products in the fluorinated polymer market have generally increased due to cost drivers, while the VDF series continues to maintain a weak supply-demand balance, with product prices remaining stable at a low level. The market characteristics are manifested as: the price increase of basic raw materials is transmitted downstream, and the price increase of important individual products drives the activity of the industrial chain to increase. Although the supply-demand game is still fierce, the short-term market exploration and fluctuation are stimulated by rising costs and expectations of further increases. The overall growth rate of downstream application industries has slowed down in the short term due to the pressure of domestic and foreign economic growth, which has determined that traditional demand industries are mainly focused on maintaining stability. New demand areas such as: AI+、 The new quality productivity fields such as data centers and cloud computing are still in the early stages of explosive growth, therefore, the future trend of fluorinated polymers will continue to slowly improve and improve.

This Week
01
Yonghe Corporation: The Baotou Yonghe New Energy Materials Industrial Park project is currently under construction as planned
Recently, Yonghe Group responded to investors' questions on the interactive platform, stating that the company's refrigerant product prices will follow the market and there are currently no plans to acquire fluorite mines. In addition, the Yonghe New Energy Materials Industrial Park project is under construction as planned, which includes the full industry chain construction of fourth generation refrigerants and their supporting raw materials. Through industrial integration construction, the stability of raw material supply can be guaranteed and cost advantages can be enhanced. The designed production capacity of fourth generation refrigerants is 20000 tons/year HFO-1234yf unit and 23000 tons/year HFO-1234ze co production HCFO-1233zd unit.
02
Shandong Yonghao and Tai Methane Chloride and Tetrachloroethylene Project Phase I is about to undergo trial production
Recently, Qilu Net · Lightning News reported that in the Zhanhua Economic Development Zone of Binzhou City, Shandong Yonghao and Tai New Materials Company's annual production of 100000 tons of methane chloride and co production of 20000 tons of tetrachloroethylene project are accelerating construction, and the current construction progress has reached 70%. The general manager of the company, Shao Yongfei, stated that the project is divided into two phases of construction. The first phase of the project is expected to reach trial production conditions in May, and the products will mainly be used for the fourth generation refrigerant. It is reported that the project plans to construct 100000 tons/year of methane chloride products, 30700 tons/year of tetrachloroethylene, 1540 tons/year of hexachloroethane, 2000 tons/year of trifluoroacetic acid, 4000 tons/year of trifluoroacetic acid, 5000 tons/year of acetic acid, and 1817 tons/year of chlorinated tert butane.

03
Successful trial production of fluorine containing high-end electronic materials and supporting chemicals project for Qifu New Materials
Recently, Shandong Qifu New Materials Co., Ltd. (Qifu New Materials) successfully conducted trial production of high-end electronic materials and supporting chemicals containing fluorine. The production line is currently running well and will be officially put into operation soon. After the project is officially put into operation, it can have an annual production capacity of 68000 tons of fluorine-containing new materials and supporting chemicals. It is reported that the first phase project of Qifu New Materials, which is about to be officially put into operation, was completed and put into operation 5 months ahead of schedule. It mainly produces fluorine-containing working materials such as meltable polytetrafluoroethylene (PFA), perfluoroethylene propylene (FEP), hexafluoropropylene (HFP), tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), and difluorochloromethane (R22). The second phase project will start construction in the second quarter of 2025, with core products of 3000 tons/year fluororubber and 6000 tons/year fluorine-containing heat exchange fluid.
04
Huayi Group will acquire 60% equity of Sanaifu to promote its strategic layout in the fluorine chemical industry
On March 18th, Shanghai Huayi Group Co., Ltd. (Huayi Group) issued a suggestive announcement regarding the planning of cash acquisition of equity and related party transactions. According to the announcement, in order to further promote the strategic layout in the fluorine chemical industry, improve comprehensive competitiveness, and achieve synergies, Huayi Group plans to acquire 60% of the equity of San Ai Fu held by Shanghai Huayi in cash. If this transaction is successfully implemented, Huayi Group will expand its layout in high barrier products such as fluoropolymers and fluorine fine chemicals, effectively strengthening Huayi Group's profitability.