Honeywell has signed a multi-year agreement with China’s Juhua Group for the supply of its refrigerant Solstice yf. Under the terms of the deal, Juhua will make Solstice yf in China for Honeywell, which in turn will market and sell the refrigerant to customers in Europe and the US. Juhua’s fluorochemicals production is located in Quzhou, Zhejiang province. Production of Solstice yf is expected to begin by the end of 2016.

Ken Gayer, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products, said the agreement would ensure supply to meet growing global demand as well as helping to support the future adoption of products with low global-warming potential in China. Solstice yf, also known as HFO-1234yf, is a hydrofluoro-olefin refrigerant that is a near drop-in replacement for hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) R-134a. Solstice yf has a global warming potential (GWP) of less than 1, which is lower than carbon dioxide, and much less than R-134a which has a GWP of 1,300.

Honeywell said the extra production in China will complement the additional capacity it is currently building at its refrigerants site in Geismar, Louisana, USA. The new plant, which is part of a global investment of around $300 million to raise production capacity for Solstice yf, is scheduled to be fully operational during 2016.

Solstice yf is being used in a growing number of stationary air conditioning and commercial refrigeration applications. Demand in mobile air conditioning is growing rapidly, said Honeywell, because of increased global environmental regulations and policies aimed at reducing the global warming impacts of HFCs.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Solstice yf as a replacement for R-134a, which is banned in mobile air conditioning systems in new passenger cars and light-duty trucks from 2021. US automotive manufacturers are also adopting Solstice yf to help comply with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and vehicle greenhouse gas standards.

In Europe, the European Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) directive requires that all cars sold in the region after Jan. 1 2017 must use a refrigerant with a GWP of less than 150.

Honeywell and its suppliers are currently in the middle of a $900 million investment program in R&D and new capacity to produce refrigerants, insulation materials, aerosols and solvents that have a GWP equal to or better than carbon dioxide and at least 99% lower than most technologies used today.