The Chemours Company has issued a statement in support of a decision by the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office to uphold European Patent EP 2546225, which protects HFO‑1234yf manufacturing processes.
This ruling represents an important victory, ensuring both intellectual property (IP) protection of low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants while helping to ensure the market has access to safe, reliable, and high‑quality refrigerants that advance global climate targets, the company said.
“Chemours and Solstice have made significant long‑term investments to bring 1234yf to market, and we remain firmly committed to defending our IP— extending into the mid-2030s—and market position as authorised manufacturers and suppliers,” the statement said.
“Chemours operates one of the world’s largest HFO‑1234yf production facilities, and will continue investing to meet rising global demand, while maintaining rigorous standards for manufacturing, distribution, and responsible use—ensuring strong support for customers and continued progress toward climate-friendly solutions.”
HFO-1234yf, marketed by Solstice as Solstice yf Refrigerant, is a near drop-in replacement for R-134a in automobile air-conditioning applications that helps automakers around the world comply with EU low global warming potential (GWP) requirements. The refrigerant has been adopted for use in hundreds of millions of vehicles worldwide.
Solstice Advanced Materials vice president & general manager for Europe, Julien Soulet, said the company’s IP remains strong and enforceable.
Solstice’s predecessor company, Honeywell, previously filed three patent infringement actions in Europe based on the ’225 patent: German case numbers 19O6599/18 and 19O6598/18 and Czech case number 21 Cm 422018.
“Solstice is committed to continuing to act against unauthorised activities related to its patents,” Soulet said.