Sinochem's fluorine chemical business has grown rapidly through independent innovation in recent years.

HFC-134a is the globally recognized best replacement of CFC-12, an ozone depleting substance (ODS). Now Sinochem’s total HFC-134a production capacity reached 30,000 t/a, ranking the first place in China, the third in the world, providing a strong support for China to comply with the International Ozone Protection Convention. Being the biggest player in China, we are increasingly penetrating into European and other Asian markets. Meanwhile, we are taking active stances to collaborate with the world’s top fluorine chemical players including Dupont, Honeywell and Daikin in manufacturing process and distribution.

In the recent years, Sinochem has adopted a series of measures to enhance the fluorine product and technology innovation capability.

We started to develop the third-generation HFC-134a catalyst to secure the technology leadership in the domestic market. We also conducted R&D, trial and pilot production of a number of ODS replacements, providing the technical support for the further amplification of the product pipeline. The associated fluorine chemical laboratory jointly set up by the Taicang Chemical Industry Park and Shanghai Organic Chemistry Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has started to run to rapidly enhance the technology innovation, development and commercialization capabilities of Sinochem Taicang.

Meanwhile, Sinochem has endeavoured to explore the access to the upstream resources. Sinochem has acquired a concession of 5 million mt fluorspar mine resources from Fujian and Jiangxi provinces and continues to amplify its reserve. By integrating the upstream resources, we have ensured the sustainable development of the fluorine chemical business while playing an active and leading role in effective development and utilization of the national strategic fluorspar resources.

In 2008, Sinochem increased the investment in quality projects. In June, we acquired the majority ownership of Zhejiang Petrochemical Construction Material Group, aimed to build up a leading Chinese fluorine chemical enterprise with a complete industrial chain, strong R&D capabilities, advanced management and highly competitiveness.