On Saturday, some 150 nations struck a global agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, on ways to phase down hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases, which are currently used in air-cooling systems and refrigerators, and help curb the release of climate-warming emissions.
The accord is an amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which was aimed at stopping the depletion of the ozone layer. As part of a larger goal to globally reduce HFCs by 80 percent by 2047, signatories such as U.S., India and China have agreed to phase out the pollutants from cooling appliances starting 2019.
The agreement is a boon for chemical and equipment makers as it gives them "clarity and certainty" and will help speed up development and testing of HFC alternatives, which are already underway, Kevin Fay, executive director of the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, a trade group that represents chemical and equipment manufacturers, said.
Honeywell began developing HFC alternatives as far back as 2000 and has invested $500 million to date, a company spokesman said. The company has committed $900 million in total.
The Morris Plains, New Jersey-based company has already begun producing HFC substitutes used for foam insulation, aerosols, commercial refrigerants, and chiller applications at two plants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It has manufacturing partnerships with local producers in India, Japan and China to produce an alternative refrigerant used in automobile air conditioners called HFO-1234yf.
Honeywell is in the process of starting up 1234yf production at the Indian plant and its facility in Geismar, Louisiana, will roll out a commercial product in early 2017, the spokesman added.
Read more at U.S. Companies Brace for Climate-Friendly Alternatives in Cooling Systems
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