WILMINGTON, Del. - DuPont announced significant progress toward the development and commercialization of a new refrigerant for automotive air conditioning that offers a considerably lower global warming potential than hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) R-134a, which is used today. The new refrigerant, a hydrofluoro-olefin (HFO) called HFO-1234yf, is the product of a joint development agreement between DuPont and Honeywell, who have been working closely with automotive manufacturers and their suppliers to conduct extensive safety, environmental, and performance testing.

Based upon equivalent cooling and energy performance and global adoption of one refrigerant by the year 2017, the use of the new refrigerant in new cars has the potential to save more than 2,200 million liters (about 590 million gallons) of fuel annually - the equivalent of taking approximately 1.5 million cars off the road each year, compared to the in-kind product.

“This development is critical to reduce the total environmental footprint associated with car air conditioning systems, and DuPont is pleased to report that current data supports the safe use of HFO-1234yf in mobile air conditioning systems globally,” said Cindy Green , vice president and general manager - DuPont Fluoroproducts. “As HFO-1234yf is evaluated by automotive manufacturers in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia, support continues to strengthen. In addition to safety, the new refrigerant offers a favorable environmental profile, compatibility with existing mobile air conditioning technology, and could enable automotive OEMs to meet the 2011 European Union regulatory deadline imposed on mobile air conditioning to begin the phaseout of HFC technologies.”

Publication date:11/03/2008