New Report Finds Refrigerant Reclamation Significantly Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions Compared to Virgin Refrigerants

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Sept. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hudson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN), a leading provider of innovative and sustainable refrigerant products and services to the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration industry – and one of the nation’s largest refrigerant reclaimers sponsored a report released today by RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) assessing the emissions reduction impact of the implementation of R-410A refrigerant reclamation in the United States residential HVAC sector. The report finds that lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by up to 70% (on a per pound basis) through the use of reclaimed refrigerant versus producing and using newly manufactured virgin refrigerant.

The residential air conditioning and heat pump (ACHP) market and the installed base are currently predominantly served by newly manufactured, virgin R-410A, which is a high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Technology Transition Rule will prohibit the manufacturing of R-410A for new residential equipment beginning in 2025, as it promotes the sector’s transition to new equipment that requires lower-GWP refrigerants. However, a bridge is necessary to provide an orderly transition and to allow the current installed base of equipment to achieve its economic life, consisting of approximately the next 20 years. RMI’s report illustrates how R-410A reclamation mandates to service the existing installed base significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can serve as a viable, climate-friendly solution to meet market demand for R-410A with reduced need for further virgin R-410A manufacturing as the industry evolves to new technology and refrigerants.

“Refrigerant reclamation is an overlooked climate solution in the United States, and we are proud that Hudson is taking a leadership role in shaping the circular economy for refrigerants. As the availability of virgin R-410A decreases to meet EPA’s phasedown goals, refrigerant reclamation will be essential to meeting the demand for existing systems, limiting market disruptions, ensuring a smooth transition for consumers, and providing a significant reduction to GWP. We are pleased to partner with RMI to illuminate the significant emissions reduction role refrigerant reclamation plays in protecting our environment,” said Brian F. Coleman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Technologies.

Key report findings:

• Reclaiming R-410A can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% compared to producing virgin refrigerant.
• Maximizing refrigerant reclamation to serve ACHP equipment in U.S. homes can avoid 7.7 metric tons of CO2 emissions by 2045–equivalent to taking 1.8 million cars off the road for a year.
• Recovering refrigerant is critical to a successful circular economy for refrigerants and supports achieving the full economic life of the installed base of equipment.
• The barriers to recovery and reclamation identified in the report would apply to other refrigerants in the sector as well.

Refrigerants are the lifeblood of air-conditioning and heat pump equipment. As the EPA implements new rules constraining the supply of high global warming potential refrigerants and requiring a transition to more climate-friendly alternatives, recovering and reclaiming R-410A refrigerant for servicing millions of existing home heating and cooling systems will be paramount. RMI is pleased to partner with Hudson Technologies and provide critical research that illustrates why we must advance policies and adopt refrigerant lifecycle best practices from around the world today. By advancing reclamation practices, policymakers and industry can support the transition to lower GWP refrigerants, reduce greenhouse gas emissions across supply chains, and protect both businesses and homeowners from potential price spikes and service disruptions,” said Ankit Kalanki, co-author of the report and global cooling expert at RMI.

Download the full report here.

About Hudson Technologies

Hudson Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of innovative and sustainable refrigerant products and services to the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration industry. For nearly three decades, we have demonstrated our commitment to our customers and the environment by becoming one of the first in the United States and largest refrigerant reclaimers through multimillion dollar investments in the plants and advanced separation technology required to recover a wide variety of refrigerants and restoring them to Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute standard for reuse as certified EMERALD Refrigerants™. The Company's products and services are primarily used in commercial air conditioning, industrial processing and refrigeration systems, and include refrigerant and industrial gas sales, refrigerant management services consisting primarily of reclamation of refrigerants and RefrigerantSide^® Services performed at a customer's site, consisting of system decontamination to remove moisture, oils and other contaminants. The Company’s SmartEnergy OPS^® service is a web-based real time continuous monitoring service applicable to a facility’s refrigeration systems and other energy systems. The Company’s Chiller Chemistry^® and Chill Smart^® services are also predictive and diagnostic service offerings. As a component of the Company’s products and services, the Company also generates carbon offset projects.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements contained herein which are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the laws and regulations affecting the industry, changes in the demand and price for refrigerants (including unfavorable market conditions adversely affecting the demand for, and the price of, refrigerants), the Company's ability to source refrigerants, regulatory and economic factors, seasonality, competition, litigation, the nature of supplier or customer arrangements that become available to the Company in the future, adverse weather conditions, possible technological obsolescence of existing products and services, possible reduction in the carrying value of long-lived assets, estimates of the useful life of its assets, potential environmental liability, customer concentration, the ability to obtain financing, the ability to meet financial covenants under its existing credit facility, any delays or interruptions in bringing products and services to market, the timely availability of any requisite permits and authorizations from governmental entities and third parties as well as factors relating to doing business outside the United States, including changes in the laws, regulations, policies, and political, financial and economic conditions, including inflation, interest and currency exchange rates, of countries in which the Company may seek to conduct business, the Company’s ability to successfully integrate any assets it acquires from third parties into its operations, and other risks detailed in the Company's 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "may", "plan", "should" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date the statement was made.

Investor Relations Contact: John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau IMS Investor Relations (203) 972-9200 jnesbett@imsinvestorrelations.com

Company Contact: Brian F. Coleman, President & CEO Hudson Technologies, Inc. (845) 735-6000 bcoleman@hudsontech.com