WARRENDALE, Pa. — A Cooperative Research Program conducted through SAE International to investigate the safety and environmental performance of a new refrigerant for mobile air conditioning systems, has announced the successful completion of its research. Based on these results, the sponsors of the SAE CRP1234 have concluded that HFO-1234yf can be used as the global replacement refrigerant in future mobile air conditioning systems. From the evaluation and test results it has been concluded that HFO-1234yf can be safely accommodated through established industry standards and practices for vehicle design, engineering, manufacturing and service. 
The report is the third SAE report to evaluate the new refrigerant. The recent two-year global research program was to determine the safety and environmental characteristics of HFO-1234yf. These investigations have confirmed that HFO-1234yf is an environmentally friendly refrigerant suitable for use in direct expansion Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) systems. HFO-1234yf is a non Ozone Depleting Substance with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 4. In comparison, the current refrigerant, R-134a, has a GWP of 1430. Beginning in 2011, automakers will be required to use refrigerants with a global warming potential (GWP) below 150.
As part of the studies the automotive industry conducted evaluations on a variety of vehicle applications. Additional testing and research was conducted at internationally recognized laboratories to verify worldwide acceptance for one common global replacement refrigerant. The vehicle OEMs evaluated the investigations conducted by Gradient LLC (USA), Exponent Engineering and Scientific Consulting (USA), Creative Thermal Solutions [CTS] (USA), Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques [INERIS] (France), – Institut fur Luft und Kaltetechnik – Dresden [ILK- Dresden] (Germany), TNO (The Netherlands), Underwriters Laboratories (USA), WIL Research Laboratories (USA), Det Norske Veritas (Norway/Japan), Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences (USA) and Hughes Associates Inc. in USA.
Extensive testing supported by multimillion-dollar funding and in-kind support for SAE CRP1234 projects has been provided by 15 vehicle OEMs (from China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Sweden, UK, and USA) and 18 Tier one suppliers (from Asia, Europe, and USA).
In a separate announcement yesterday, DuPont has applauded the European Patent Office for its plans to grant a patent for HFO-1234yf. HFO-1234yf was developed by Honeywell and DuPont to help the automotive industry comply with the European Union’s Mobile Air Conditioning Directive. DuPont will have access to Honeywell’s patent worldwide.
“We are pleased that the European Patent Office has communicated its intention to grant a patent for the use of HFO-1234yf in auto air conditioning,” said Diane Picho, global business manager, DuPont Refrigerants. “DuPont will continue commercializing this environmentally preferable product with the additional intellectual property protection that this granted patent affords.”
DuPont also is conducting lab and field tests to evaluate HFO-1234yf and other refrigerants with similar attributes as more sustainable cooling solutions for stationary air conditioning and refrigeration.
