Report on 4th Generation Refrigerant Gas Development in China

"The elimination schedule of the third-generation refrigerant HFC series products has been determined, but the fourth-generation refrigerant HFO series is currently controlled by patents in Western countries. In order to break the foreign blockade in high-tech fourth-generation refrigerants and fluorine-containing materials, we must seize the time to develop our own products. At the Zhejiang Fluorine Material Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance Council held in Huzhou last week, Zhang Zengying, Secretary-General of Zhejiang Fluorine Chemical Industry Association and consultant of the Secretariat of the Fluorine Material Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, said.

Zhang Zengying pointed out that due to the high greenhouse effect value GWP of HFC products, which belong to the scope of greenhouse gases, the Paris Agreement and the Montreal Kigali Amendment have determined the phase-out schedule of the third-generation refrigerant HFC series products. China has formulated the goal of reducing HFC refrigerant plan, with a 10% emission reduction target by 2029 and a 20% emission reduction target in 2030~2035... However, the current situation is that the third-generation refrigerant HFC produced and sold by domestic enterprises is facing elimination, and the fourth-generation refrigerant HFO series is controlled by the patents of Western countries, and we must have a countermeasure and program to develop the fourth-generation refrigerant HFO series products.

With the rise of national strategic emerging industries, our country has also begun to attach great importance to the development of high-end fluorine-containing new materials with excellent performance. Fluorine chemical new materials have become one of the key chemical new materials developed by the country. "Although Zhejiang Province has the National Engineering Technology Research Center for Ozone-Depleting Substance Alternatives and the National Engineering Technology Research Center for Fluorine Materials, the results of the combination of learning, research and production are not obvious, the actual research and development capacity and funds are obviously insufficient, and it cannot keep up with the pace of international advanced product launches, and it is still far from the goal of exceeding 1 trillion yuan in the output value of new materials such as high-end fluorosilicone polymers and fluorine-containing functional film materials proposed by the Zhejiang Provincial Government by 2022." Some product research and development has not started at all, and there are not many patents for fluorine chemical products with forward-looking independent intellectual property rights. Zhang Zengying said.

In addition, Zhang Zengying also pointed out some other problems faced by fluorine chemicals, such as the replacement and upgrading of production equipment and control systems, which require multiple related industries to work together. In addition, due to environmental and safety factors, fluorite mining is now strictly controlled, which is the right measure, but it has also led to the inability of fluorite mining to connect, resulting in a shortage of fluorite mines and rising prices, and how to properly deal with this problem is worth studying.