Heat-transfer fluids and heat pipes: Value chain

Chilean nitrates, refrigerant giants and Taiwanese cooling firms

What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.

Chemical firms make the fluids and salts, equipment makers build loops, heat pipes and stores, and end users range from solar power plants and refineries to data centres and pipelines.

The chain

Thermal oil makers Nitrate salt suppliers Refrigerant producers Heat pipe and thermal module makers End users and operators Regulators

Stage	What happens	Leading companies
Thermal oil makers	Synthetic heat-transfer fluids for chemical plants and solar fields	Eastman (US), Therminol brand⁵
Nitrate salt suppliers	Sodium and potassium nitrate for solar salt	SQM (Chile), about 1.5 million tonnes of sodium and potassium nitrates a year (company data)⁶
Refrigerant producers	HFC, HFO and other refrigerants	Chemours (US) Solstice Advanced Materials (US) Arkema (France) Orbia (Mexico) Daikin Industries (Japan)¹³
Heat pipe and thermal module makers	Heat pipes, vapour chambers, cold plates	Fujikura (Japan) Asia Vital Components (Taiwan) Auras (Taiwan)⁸¹⁵
End users and operators	Solar thermal plants, industry, data centres, pipelines	Andasol 3 solar plant (Spain) Alyeska Pipeline Service (US)²⁹
Regulators	Limits on fluorinated gases and PFAS	European Commission (F-gas Regulation 2024/573) European Chemicals Agency¹²¹⁴

Chemours's annual report names Solstice Advanced Materials, Arkema, Orbia, Daikin and Chinese F-gas producers as its refrigerant competitors. Several figures in this tab are company data rather than independent assessments: Eastman's rated range for Therminol VP-1, SQM's statement that its solar salts are chemically stable above 580 C, and Fujikura's description of itself as one of the biggest thermal-solution suppliers. Independent market shares for thermal oils, solar salts and heat pipes are not published.

Sources

Molten salt suitable heat transfer fluid for concentrating collector fields solarthermalworld.org, 2021
Therminol VP-1 heat transfer fluid (company data) Eastman, 2026
Thermo-Solar Salts (company data) SQM, 2026
Thermal solutions (company data) Fujikura, 2026
Pipeline designs protect permafrost PBS American Experience, 2006
A Concise Guide to the EU F-Gas Regulation Environmental Investigation Agency, 2026
The Chemours Company Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 US SEC, 2026
ECHA's update on the REACH restriction on PFAS (100th EFSA Advisory Forum) European Chemicals Agency, 2026
AI demand lifts Taiwan cooling suppliers to record monthly sales Taiwan News, 2026