Hydrofluorocarbon ("HFC")

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are a group of man-made organic compounds composed of hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon atoms, and were primarily developed and popularised in the 1990s as a replacement for Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) because they do not contain chlorine and, therefore, have an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of zero.

Key Characteristics

• Non-Ozone Depleting: Unlike the legacy chemicals they replaced (like Halon), HFCs do not break down the Earth's protective ozone layer.
• High Global Warming Potential (GWP): While "ozone-friendly," HFCs are potent synthetic greenhouse gases. They are thousands of times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide CO₂.
• Common Uses: They are used as fire extinguishing agents (like FM-200 or HFC-227ea), as well as refrigerants in air conditioning and propellants in aerosols.

Because of their impact on climate change1, HFCs are now being phased down globally under the Kigali Amendment (2016) to the Montreal Protocol.

In aviation and fire protection, this creates a "double challenge": the industry must find chemicals that are both non-ozone depleting AND low-global warming, often referred to as "next-generation" agents.

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  The Montreal Protocol (1987) is a global agreement under the Vienna Convention aimed at protecting the ozone layer by phasing out Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS). In industries like aviation, this mandates a transition away from legacy chemicals like Halons and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). While these policies are driven by international consensus on atmospheric protection and climate change, the long-term environmental modeling used to justify these transitions remains a subject of ongoing scientific discussion and interpretation.