Daikin Industries, Ltd. (Head office: Osaka, Japan, hereafter "Daikin") and Arkema Incorporated (Head office: Paris, France, hereafter "Arkema") have agreed to establish a new company, Daikin Arkema Refrigerants Asia, Ltd. (hereafter "Refrigerants JV"), to market new refrigerants for air-conditioners* in the Asian and Oceanian regions, excluding Japan, as well as a new company, Arkema Daikin Advanced Fluorochemicals (Changshu) Co., Ltd. (hereafter 125 JV), to manufacture and market HFC-125, the main component of new refrigerant gases, in November 2007.
HFC-125 is a fluorocarbon gas essential in generating new refrigerants. As a limited number of companies manufacture it, one issue that has arisen is securing a stable supply of HFC-125 after 2010, when demand is expected to dramatically increase.
Through establishment of the 125 JV, Daikin and Arkema seek to ensure a stable supply of HC-125 after 2010 as well as enhance cost competitiveness through a fusion of both companies' technologies. In addition, HFC-125 manufactured and marketed by the 125 JV will be mainly used in new air-conditioning refrigerants (R-410A, R-407C, R-404A), which the Refrigerants JV plans to market throughout the Asian and Oceanian region. Daikin and Arkema also plan to market the new refrigerants on a global basis.
New refrigerants do not impact the ozone layer and are an alternative to HCFC refrigerants chiefly used to date. Manufacturers are expected to completely phase out HCFC refrigerants in the future. HCFC refrigerants have been banned in air-conditioners manufactured in Europe following regulations dated to 2004 and almost completely phased out in Japan as well. In addition, from 2010 HCFC refrigerants will be banned in air-conditioners manufactured in the United States.
Regions experiencing growth in AC demand, such as China, are also expected to make the switch to new refrigerants. Therefore, worldwide demand for new refrigerants is expected to increase dramatically.
Daikin and Arkema have built a close relationship in various business collaborations since the latter half of the 1990s, including the fluorine resin business in Changshu, China and the fluoroelastomer business in Lyon, France.
Looking at global developments outside the Asian and Oceanian region as well, establishment of the new companies represents efforts to expand collaboration in the field of refrigerants and achieve new cooperation in the chemical business transcending the boundaries of the refrigerant field.
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