Hisense Taps Honeywell for Sustainable Refrigerant Push

Hisense, a consumer electronics and appliance manufacturer, will implement Honeywell’s energy-efficient Solstice low-global warming potential refrigerant into its residential air conditioning units, the companies said. 

The partnership between the two comes as legislative mandates across the country are targeting reducing the use of high-global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbons. The Environmental Protection Agency also recently announced a 40% quota cut in the production of HFC refrigerants as of January 1, 2024. 

HFCs are known as super-pollutants and potentially big contributors to climate change, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Under the deal, Hisense units will use Honeywell Solstice 454B, a low-GWP refrigerant. The move will help Hisense be in line with the goals of phasing out higher GWP refrigerants for air conditioners and heat pumps.

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“The world is migrating away from refrigerants with high-global warming potential, but it is also accelerating innovation to create responsible replacements that lower carbon footprints and improve energy efficiency, all without sacrificing safety and end-product performance,” Jeff Dormo, president of Honeywell Advanced Materials, said in a statement. “Honeywell anticipated the need for these solutions more than a decade ago when we introduced our Solstice technology, and today we are pleased to be able to partner with manufacturers like Hisense that are leveraging our expertise to enhance their own sustainability efforts in alignment with the global energy transition.”

Honeywell’s Solstice technology stems from more than $1 billion in investment in research, development, and creation of new capacity. The technology has applications in refrigerants, blowing agents, aerosols, and solvents, and is being evaluated for expanded use in metered-dose inhalers. 

The technology, according to Honeywell, has helped avoid the potential release of the equivalent of more than 326 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or the carbon emissions from nearly 70 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles per year since its