\u201cThese companies\u2019 expansion plans show that unless governments and regulators insist on a rapid phaseout, we will face a new tidal wave of forever chemicals,\u201d said Anne-Sofie B\u00e4ckar, the executive director of ChemSec, the Swedish chemicals watchdog that carried out the research.<\/p>\n
ChemSec\u2019s survey found nearly all of the 10 biggest manufacturers of Pfas<\/a> had plans to increase production, at sites in Europe, Asia and North America.<\/p>\n The boom in AI tech was leading demand, with Pfas used for \u201ceco-friendly\u201d datacentre cooling and in various stages of semiconductor manufacturing.<\/p>\n Japan-headquarted Daikin said<\/a> it was launching a \u201cdatacentre hub\u201d to meet demand, and promised to \u201cmaintain and expand our top share in the industry by expanding sales of existing fluorine products and introducing new products\u201d.<\/p>\n The French multinational Arkema was expanding its refrigerant offering, with a new $60m (\u00a344m) production unit in Kentucky that it said<\/a> \u201cwill enable us to follow the rapid expansion of datacenters\u2019 cooling needs\u201d.<\/p>\n And the US Pfas producer Chemours was expanding to meet demand from \u201cadvanced datacenters and AI hardware\u201d. It said<\/a> its \u201cinnovative liquid cooling solutions\u201d lower the energy, water, space, maintenance and investment costs of datacentres.<\/p>\n Critics have said Chemours \u2013 recently ordered to pay $450m<\/a> to settle a lawsuit over Pfas discharges \u2013 downplays the chemicals\u2019 toxicity<\/a> and climate impact.<\/p>\n Other companies increasing production were Japanese multinational AGC, Chinese conglomerate Dongyue, India-based chemicals giant Gujarat Fluorochemicals, secretive Russian Pfas producer HaloPolymer, Mexico\u2019s Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials, US-based fluorinated gases producer Solstice and Belgian multinational Syensqo.<\/p>\n Producers also cited Pfas coatings and binders for lithium-ion batteries, used in EVs, laptops and phones, as a parallel growth area. Gujarat Fluorochemicals\u2019 chief executive, Bir Kapoor, recently identified batteries as one of several \u201csunrise sectors\u201d, alongside datacentres, semiconductors and green hydrogen. \u201cThere is a tremendous growth opportunity there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The only clear exceptions were the Swiss company Archroma, which was switching to marketing Pfas-free alternatives, and the German giant BASF, which has said it will exit Pfas production by 2028.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Down to Earth<\/p>\n The planet’s most important stories. Get all the week’s environment news – the good, the bad and the essential<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Pfas are used for a new form of datacentre cooling touted as more water- and energy-efficient. In \u201ctwo-phase immersion cooling\u201d systems, servers are immersed in a pool of Pfas with a low boiling point. As the hardware gets hot, the fluid boils, drawing heat away as vapour. That rises to a water-cooled condensing coil at the top of the tank, cools back to a liquid state and re-enters the cycle.<\/p>\n Pfas also play a crucial role in the fabrication process for semiconductors, another sector booming to meet demand from the AI industry.<\/p>\n According to a recent investor note from Danske Bank: \u201cIn the world of microchips, these \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 are not merely peripheral additives; they are essential ingredients integrated into as many as 1,000 distinct steps at the nanometric level.\u201d<\/p>\n But analysts also warned Pfas were \u201cthe hidden risk of the AI boom\u201d with \u201cescalating potential for multibillion-euro remediation and litigation liabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n The carbon-fluorine bonds in Pfas, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are among the strongest in organic chemistry, rendering them incredibly resistant to heat, water and corrosion.<\/p>\n That makes them useful for a range of industrial processes and consumer products. But it also makes them virtually indestructible in the natural environment. As a result, they continue to be recycled through planetary systems, leading to their accumulation in air, water and soil, and up the food chain.<\/p>\n Although Pfas have existed for less than a century, scientists have warned that their accumulation in the environment has already breached a planetary boundary<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789430410_798_500.jpg\")
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