Chemours to Invest in Expanded Capacity for High Growth Opteon™ Products

WILMINGTON, Del., May 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chemours Company (Chemours) (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, takes another step in its five-point transformation plan by investing in large-scale manufacturing  to expand supply of its Opteon™ family of products.

Chemours will invest $230 million over three years to construct the new facility at the Chemours Corpus Christi site in Ingleside, Texas, with start-up expected in third quarter of 2018.  This investment will triple capacity of Opteon™ products, enabling Chemours to capitalize on a cornerstone growth opportunity.

The Opteon™ portfolio is a breakthrough line of solutions with very low Global Warming Potential (GWP). The new site will use an innovative, patented process to manufacture Opteon™ YF (HFO-1234yf), which is used in automotive air conditioning and in Opteon™ refrigerant blends for a range of applications. 

"Opteon™ products were developed in response to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, and in many cases they perform better than the products they replace," said Mark Vergnano, president and CEO. "This is another step in our transformation plan, and is a shining example of how Chemours is investing in innovative growth opportunities as we become a higher value chemistry company, delivering essential solutions that improve the quality of life."

This investment will create the world's largest facility for manufacturing hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), and the location will allow Chemours to efficiently serve the growing market in North America and Europe, as well as the rest of the world. Today Chemours is the capacity leader for HFO-1234yf-based products, a position that will be maintained through this investment.

Expanded capacity will enable Chemours to meet customer needs in the face of exponential growth in demand for Opteon™ products. The company estimates that 40 million cars using HFO-1234yf will be on the road by end of 2017, growing to 140 million by end of 2020. The company predicts that one thousand supermarket and commercial refrigeration systems worldwide will be using Opteon™ XP40 by end of 2016, growing to as many as 10,000 systems by end of 2020.

Chemours has commercialized Opteon™ products for use in automotive air conditioning, stationary and transport refrigeration and chillers. The company has a development pipeline of additional Opteon™ solutions for stationary air conditioning, foam blowing agents and waste heat recovery.

For more than 85 years the fluorochemicals business within Chemours has provided innovative refrigeration and foam expansion solutions to meet changing customer needs. Opteon™ low GWP products are the latest innovation, offering a long-term solution for our customers along with drastically reduced impact to the environment.  The global adoption of Opteon™ products represents a clear path toward moving the world away from HFCs, which have high global warming potential.

Chemours products with low global warming potential are expected to eliminate an estimated 300 million tons CO2 equivalent by 2025 on a global basis, while also increasing energy efficiency in many applications.

Opteon™ YF has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) that is 99.9 percent lower than the refrigerant it replaces, which is helping to lower the greenhouse gas footprint of motor vehicles.

About The Chemours Company

The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) helps create a colorful, capable and cleaner world through the power of chemistry. Chemours is a global leader in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. Chemours ingredients are found in plastics and coatings, refrigeration and air conditioning, mining and oil refining operations and general industrial manufacturing. Our flagship products include prominent brands such as Teflon™, Ti-Pure™, Krytox™, Viton™, Opteon™ and Nafion™. Chemours has approximately 8,000 employees across 35 manufacturing sites serving more than 5,000 customers in North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC. For more information please visit chemours.com or follow Chemours on Twitter at @chemours.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which often may be identified by their use of words like "plans," "expects," "will," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "anticipates" or other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address, among other things, our anticipated future operating and financial performance, business plans and prospects, transformation plans, resolution of environmental liabilities, litigation and other contingencies, plans to increase profitability, our ability to pay or the amount of any dividend, and target leverage that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be realized. The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements also are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements, as further described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. Chemours undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements.

CONTACT:

MEDIA:
Janet Smith
Global Corporate Communications Manager
+1.302.773.4508
[email protected]

INVESTORS:
Alisha Bellezza
Director of Investor Relations
+1.302.773.2263
[email protected]

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SOURCE The Chemours Company