Refrigerant used to cool cars

Honeywell and Dupont have formed a joint venture to manufacture a new refrigerant for use in automotive air-conditioning systems.

Dupont and Honeywell will share financial and technological resources with the intent to jointly design, construct and operate a manufacturing facility for the refrigerant, known as HFO-1234yf.

The product meets EU regulatory requirements for lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants for automobile air-conditioning systems. Dupont and Honeywell developed the product jointly but will market and sell it separately.

The venture follows an earlier joint-development agreement under which the two companies developed the product. The joint venture is designed to provide Dupont and Honeywell with a source of supply to meet the growing demand faster than would be possible through either company’s individual efforts.

Today’s automotive air conditioners use hydrofluorocarbon HFC-134a, which has a GWP of 1430. The EU’s Mobile Air Conditioning Directive requires that, starting in 2011, all new vehicle models use a refrigerant with a GWP below 150 and, by 2017, all new automobiles sold in Europe will be required to use a low-GWP refrigerant.