GERMANY: Refrigerant manufacturer Honeywell has expressed surprise at today's announcement by Daimler that it will not be using the new HFO refrigerant R1234yf in its new cars and trucks.
Until today, despite some opposition in Germany and from environmental groups, 1234yf had become universally accepted as the preferred solution for the replacement of R134a in car air conditioning systems.

'We were surprised to learn of the in-house testing by Mercedes-Benz, which was conducted without the benefits of collaboration or openness in the approach, and we are concerned about drawing conclusions about the relevance of the findings without having any understanding of how the tests were conducted and what conditions were represented,' commented a Honeywell spokesperson.

'Honeywell takes product safety very seriously, and we will meet with Daimler at the end of the week in hopes of understanding the findings relative to the rigorous and comprehensive studies that have already been conducted. HFO1234yf has been tested extensively by SAE, the global association of automotive engineers and several independent institutes worldwide, and these tests have all shown that it is safe.'

There has, however, been continued opposition in Germany, where many car manufacturers initially researched the use of CO2 as the replacement for R134a. Green groups have argued against the adoption of 1234yf on the grounds of its flammability and potential to produce dangerous hydrogen fluoride gas as a product of combustion. Tests by manufacturing groups and other test houses, however, have consistently confirmed its safety.

'This refrigerant has been comprehensively tested over a period of several years prior to its introduction, and it has consistently been determined to be safe for use in automobiles even under extreme conditions,' said Honeywell. 'In addition, HFO-1234yf offers a 99.7 percent improvement in global warming potential over the current refrigerant.'