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Industry underscores the need for science-based transition timelines that protect climate, vehicle safety, and consumer mobility

WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chemours Company ("Chemours") (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company, today announces its strong support for the automotive industry's ask for an extended transition timeline for fluorinated gases (F-Gases) in mobile air conditioning (MAC) applications under the proposed European Union PFAS restriction.

Industry submissions during the regulatory public consultation process¹ from ACEA (#20641)², Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA: #20672)², MAHLE (#2064)², and German Association of the Automotive Industry (#20650)², agree that a minimum 13-year transition timeline is needed for light-duty electric vehicles, and 20-years for all other vehicle types. The organizations cited the lack of a drop-in replacement for the current MAC refrigerant, R-1234yf, as the driving factor

"Chemours supports the broader automotive value chain representatives in calling for a practical, science-based transition timeline for automotive air conditioning, protecting consumer access to safe, efficient, and sustainable vehicle cooling," said Joseph Martinko, President of Thermal & Specialized Solutions at Chemours. "The reality is that next-generation refrigerant solutions must be developed, validated, integrated, and scaled before they can be deployed responsibly. For context, the last refrigerant transition from R-134a to R-1234yf, which was a near drop-in replacement, took more than 15 years to achieve. A minimum 13-year derogation reflects the reality of such a complex transition."

Currently, only two non-PFAS refrigerants, propane (R-290) and CO₂ (R-744), are being evaluated for MAC applications. The industry submissions identify significant barriers that prevent either option from serving as a near-term drop-in replacement for R-1234yf:

• Propane (R-290) presents significant safety and regulatory barriers for MAC applications due to its high flammability and restrictions in key markets, including the U.S. (MAHLE #2064)², requiring new system designs, safety controls, validation protocols, and manufacturing adaptations before broad deployment would be feasible. This flammability risk is recognized across applications. In fact, in July, France announced a large scale safety recall of propane residential heat pumps due to, "fire or explosion concerns."
• CO₂ (R-744) systems require substantially different architectures and higher-pressure components, particularly in warm climates, which can increase energy consumption, reduce vehicle range, and add cost and complexity to vehicle design (German Association of the Automotive Industry #20650)².
• Either alternative technology would also require a full redesign and validation cycle, as refrigerants are not "drop-in" solutions but determine system architecture, vehicle integration, safety and servicing requirements, and overall system performance before deployment at scale (ACEA #10785 and JAMA #20672)².

Together, these technical, safety, regulatory, and manufacturing considerations demonstrate that the industry requires an extended transition period aligned with automotive design, validation, and production cycles.

The automotive value chain has also identified practical measures that can be advanced during the derogation period to further reduce emissions. The MAC Technical Working Group report released earlier this year found that progressive emission-control measures, including maximum leak rates, mandatory inspection, and refrigerant recovery, can reduce annual emissions by up to 60%.

Chemours remains committed to working across the automotive value chain to advance lower-emission, high-performance cooling solutions. Through its Opteon™ portfolio and continued investment in refrigerant innovation, the company is supporting solutions that meet evolving automotive needs while advancing European climate, safety, and mobility objectives.

¹Source: European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), PFAS restriction registry. To locate a cited submission, select "Comments" next to "Comments on SEAC draft opinion" near the bottom of the webpage, download the file, and search for the referenced submission ID.
²Indicates submission ID within the "Comments on SEAC draft opinion" file.

About The Chemours Company
The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in providing industrial and specialty chemicals products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration and air conditioning, transportation, semiconductor and advanced electronics, general industrial, and oil and gas. Through our three businesses – Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Titanium Technologies, and Advanced Performance Materials – we deliver application expertise and chemistry-based innovations that solve customers' biggest challenges. Our flagship products are sold under prominent brands such as Opteon™, Freon™, Ti-Pure™, Nafion™, Teflon™, Viton™, and Krytox™. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC, Chemours has approximately 5,700 employees and 28 manufacturing sites and serves approximately 2,400 customers in approximately 110 countries. For more information, visit chemours.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements 
This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to a historical or current fact. The words "believe," "expect," "will," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify "forward-looking statements," which speak only as of the date such statements were made. These forward-looking statements may address, among other things, new product development, expected timeline for adoption of fluorinated refrigerant transition, alternatives to PFAS refrigerants, decreasing environmental footprint, plans to continue investment in research and development, all of which are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties that are beyond Chemours' control. Matters outside our control, including general economic conditions, geopolitical conditions and global health events, regulatory changes, and changes in environmental regulations in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that affect demand for or adoption of our products, have affected or may affect our business and operations and may or may continue to hinder our ability to provide goods and services to customers, cause disruptions in our supply chains such as through strikes, labor disruptions or other events, adversely affect our business partners, significantly reduce the demand for our products, adversely affect the health and welfare of our personnel or cause other unpredictable events. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Chemours is unable to identify at this time or that Chemours does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Chemours assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason, except as required by law.  

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