Honeywell and Navin Fluorine International Ltd (NFIL), part of the Padmanabh Mafatlal Group, have formed a partnership to manufacture Honeywell’s proprietary Solstice range of hydrofluoro olefins (HFO) in India. Production is scheduled to commence by Q2-2022 at NFIL’s manufacturing facility in Gujarat.

This portfolio of next generation products has no ozone depletion potential and a global warming potential (GWP) of 1, thereby helping customers lower their carbon footprint without sacrificing end-product performance. These products have various applications, including in blowing agents for foam insulation and refrigeration liquid for chillers.

“Many countries have pledged to be carbon neutral and promote technologies to help them meet their sustainability goals. This partnership enables these countries – including developing countries – to transition to HFOs from the more harmful hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) alternatives that are currently prevalent,” said Laura Reinhard, VP-GM, Advanced Materials FIP, Honeywell.

She added, “This partnership between Honeywell and Navin Fluorine reflects our confidence in the capabilities of Navin Fluorine to execute such complex, technical projects. We believe this project will be a good start to a long-term partnership between the two companies. We also hope to work with Navin Fluorine to develop a number of new, local applications for the Indian market.”

The demand for low-GWP solutions continues to grow. Multiple global regulations stemming from the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol require the phasedown of HFCs, driving the demand for more sustainable solutions. Honeywell has already invested more than a billion dollars in research, development and new capacity for its Solstice technology, having anticipated the need for lower-GWP solutions to combat climate change more than a decade ago.

Honeywell’s partnership with Navin Fluorine will enable capacity expansion for its Solstice range to cater to the growing global demand for environmentally friendlier solutions.

Radhesh Welling, Managing Director, Navin Fluorine International Limited, said, “As the country’s leading producer of specialty fluorochemicals, we are pleased to partner with Honeywell for production of Honeywell’s industry-first HFOs at our Dahej facility. This will be a truly Make-in-India product that will serve global customers. We will also work together to develop new applications for Indian market. We strongly believe this project will help us further strengthen our partnership with Honeywell to do bigger and better things together in future.”