Chemours Announces Development of a Low GWP Retrofit Approach for Vehicles Using the Legacy R-134a Mobile Air Conditioning Refrigerant

The fully integrable aftermarket approach will make it easy and cost effective for older vehicles to transition to climate-friendly Opteon™ YF (R-1234yf)

The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global leader in delivering innovative performance chemistry, today announced the development of a low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant retrofit approach for the automotive aftermarket to support the global phasedown of higher GWP hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. The technical approach developed will provide vehicle owners—and their service technicians—with a simple retrofit procedure to safely and cost effectively replace the legacy R-134a refrigerant in their existing vehicle with the widely-used, low GWP Opteon™ YF (R-1234yf) refrigerant. Opteon™ YF was developed to replace R-134a in new mobile HVAC systems.

"Customer satisfaction, safety, and ease-of-use are always top priorities. The development of a simple retrofit approach that builds on existing safe service practices and provides a lower GWP refrigerant option, is a prime example of those commitments in action,” said Joseph Martinko, President of Thermal & Specialized Solutions at Chemours. “Providing a fully integrable approach with matched performance and lower environmental footprint is a win-win for the automotive industry and society at-large.”

As the use of Opteon™ YF continues to expand in support of global climate targets and regulations, Chemours has continued to partner with industry to support adoption.

“While many countries have transitioned to lower GWP refrigerant technologies, millions of vehicles remain on-the-road using R-134a,” says Amber Stephenson, Senior Director of Technology at Chemours. “Developing a safe, simple, and cost-effective retrofit approach to facilitate the transition to low GWP technology is a critical step forward.”

Since its development more than a decade ago, Opteon™ YF has become the preferred low GWP refrigerant used by global vehicle manufacturers. Today, R-1234yf is in use in 250 million light-duty vehicles, and by 2025, Chemours expects its Opteon™ portfolio will eliminate an estimated 325 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. As global HFC phase-out activities accelerate, Opteon™ YF is proven to meet GWP targets and performance requirements.

About The Chemours Company

The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in providing industrial and specialty chemicals products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration and air conditioning, transportation, semiconductor and advanced electronics, general industrial, and oil and gas. Through our three businesses – Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Titanium Technologies, and Advanced Performance Materials – we deliver application expertise and chemistry-based innovations that solve customers’ biggest challenges. Our flagship products are sold under prominent brands such as Opteon™, Freon™, Ti-Pure™, Nafion™, Teflon™, Viton™, and Krytox™. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC, Chemours has approximately 6,100 employees and 28 manufacturing sites and serves approximately 2,700 customers in approximately 110 countries.

For more information, visit chemours.com or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @Chemours or LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical or current fact. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify "forward-looking statements," which speak only as of the date such statements were made. These forward-looking statements may address, among other things, expected contributions to advancing sustainability, improving environmental footprint, all of which are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties that are beyond Chemours' control. Matters outside our control, including general economic conditions, geopolitical conditions and global health events, have affected or may affect our business and operations and may or may continue to hinder our ability to provide goods and services to customers, cause disruptions in our supply chains such as through strikes, labor disruptions or other events, adversely affect our business partners, significantly reduce the demand for our products, adversely affect the health and welfare of our personnel or cause other unpredictable events. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Chemours is unable to identify at this time or that Chemours does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. Chemours assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law.

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