Honeywell starts up $300m automotive refrigerant production facility in Louisiana
Staff Writer |
Honeywell announced that it has started commercial operations at its new manufacturing plant in Geismar, La., to meet the growing global demand for its next-generation mobile air conditioning refrigerant.
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With this start-up, the plant has become the world's largest site for producing HFO-1234yf, sold commercially as Solstice yf.
Solstice yf is an award-winning product that was developed by the company's team of scientists to meet the needs of the automotive industry to replace R-134a, the most widely used auto refrigerant.
Solstice yf has a global-warming-potential (GWP) of less than 1, which is lower than carbon dioxide and 99.9 percent lower than R-134a, which has a GWP of 1300.
R-134a is a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), which many governments and industries have been looking at phasing out since the early 2000s.
Honeywell invested heavily in the construction and supply of the Geismar facility, creating hundreds of long-term, high value, sustainable jobs for the local area.
Geismar has increased its workforce by more than 20 percent and supported nearly 1,400 construction jobs as part of this project.
With this investment, Geismar has become one of Honeywell's most advanced production sites. It will serve as the showcase for some of the company's own process and automation technologies, including Honeywell Connected Plant.
Honeywell has created a central hub in Louisiana to manufacture its full portfolio of next-generation Solstice products, which includes Solstice yf.
The company has invested significantly in its manufacturing facilities across the state, supported by a comprehensive incentive package spearheaded by the Louisiana Economic Development authority. ■
A low pressure wave forming along a cold front will track across the New England coast this morning, bringing a period of rain, heavy at times for much of New England, especially for Maine today.