Major chemical manufacturers are significantly increasing their production of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to meet the escalating demands of the artificial intelligence sector, a Swedish chemicals watchdog has warned.
Despite growing alarm over the "forever chemicals", which have been linked to health conditions including cancer, a survey of the ten largest manufacturers found that most are planning to boost output. Many are framing these investments around the "AI revolution", citing the crucial role PFAS play in semiconductor production and next-generation data centre cooling systems.
Opponents, however, contend that these chemicals, which do not degrade naturally, represent a ticking time bomb for human and planetary health. They argue that increased production risks undermining nascent regulatory efforts to restrict PFAS in Europe, the UK, and parts of the United States.
"These companies’ expansion plans show that unless governments and regulators insist on a rapid phaseout, we will face a new tidal wave of forever chemicals," stated Anne-Sofie Bäckar, executive director of ChemSec, the organisation that conducted the research.
ChemSec's survey revealed that nearly all of the top ten PFAS manufacturers intend to increase production, with new or expanded sites identified across Europe, Asia, and North America. The boom in AI technology is identified as the primary driver of this demand, particularly for PFAS used in "eco-friendly" data centre cooling and various stages of semiconductor manufacturing.
Japan-headquartered Daikin confirmed its intention to launch a "data centre hub" to address the rising demand, pledging to "maintain and expand our top share in the industry by expanding sales of existing fluorine products and introducing new products".
French multinational Arkema is also expanding its refrigerant offerings, investing $60m (£44m) in a new production unit in Kentucky. The company indicated this expansion "will enable us to follow the rapid expansion of data centres’ cooling needs". Similarly, US PFAS producer Chemours announced expansions to meet demand from "advanced data centres and AI hardware", promoting its "innovative liquid cooling solutions" for their purported ability to lower energy, water, space, maintenance, and investment costs for data centres.
Critics have previously accused Chemours, which was recently ordered to pay $450m to settle a lawsuit over PFAS discharges, of downplaying the chemicals’ toxicity and climate impact.
Other major companies reported to be increasing production include Japanese multinational AGC, Chinese conglomerate Dongyue, India-based chemicals giant Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Russian PFAS producer HaloPolymer, Mexico’s Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials, US-based fluorinated gases producer Solstice, and Belgian multinational Syensqo.
Beyond the AI sector, producers also cited PFAS coatings and binders for lithium-ion batteries, widely used in electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones, as another significant growth area. Bir Kapoor, Chief Executive of Gujarat Fluorochemicals, recently identified batteries as one of several "sunrise sectors", alongside data centres, semiconductors, and green hydrogen, noting: "There is a tremendous growth opportunity there."
The only clear exceptions among the surveyed companies were Swiss firm Archroma, which is transitioning to marketing PFAS-free alternatives, and German giant BASF, which has committed to exiting PFAS production by 2028.
PFAS are increasingly utilised in a novel form of data centre cooling touted for its water and energy efficiency. In "two-phase immersion cooling" systems, servers are submerged in a pool of PFAS fluid with a low boiling point. As the hardware heats up, the fluid boils, drawing heat away as vapour. This vapour rises to a water-cooled condensing coil, cools back to a liquid state, and re-enters the cycle.
Furthermore, PFAS play a critical role in the fabrication process for semiconductors, another sector experiencing rapid growth due to AI demand. A recent investor note from Danske Bank highlighted their indispensability, stating: "In the world of microchips, these ‘forever chemicals’ are not merely peripheral additives; they are essential ingredients integrated into as many as 1,000 distinct steps at the nanometric level."
However, analysts from Danske Bank also cautioned that PFAS represent "the hidden risk of the AI boom", with "escalating potential for multibillion-euro remediation and litigation liabilities".
The carbon-fluorine bonds characteristic of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are among the strongest in organic chemistry, endowing them with extraordinary resistance to heat, water, and corrosion. While this makes them valuable for various industrial processes and consumer products, it also renders them virtually indestructible in the natural environment. Consequently, they persist and accumulate in air, water, and soil, and move up the food chain, being recycled through planetary systems.
Despite having existed for less than a century, scientists have warned that the accumulation of these chemicals in the environment has already breached a planetary boundary. It is believed that PFAS now contaminate the blood of nearly every living person, with research linking them to serious health concerns including cancer, liver disease, kidney issues, high cholesterol, and birth defects.
In a symbolic gesture, ChemSec sent finger-prick blood tests to the chief executives of all European companies in its top ten, encouraging them to measure their own PFAS levels and publicly share the results. "The people who lead them must understand that they too are affected by the toxins they produce, which have been detected in the blood of more than 99% of people worldwide," Ms Bäckar said.
