10 Major PFAS Makers Expand Output for AI Boom Despite $450 Million Pollution Settlement
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 14
10 Major PFAS Makers Expand Output for AI Boom Despite $450 Million Pollution Settlement
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 14
Summary
ChemSec found nearly all of the 10 biggest PFAS manufacturers plan to raise output across Europe, Asia and North America, warning AI demand is driving a new wave of “forever chemicals” production.
AI is pulling PFAS into datacentre cooling and chipmaking: Daikin is building a datacentre hub, Arkema is adding a $60 million Kentucky unit, and Chemours says it is expanding for advanced datacentres and AI hardware.
Semiconductor demand is especially hard to replace because PFAS are used in as many as 1,000 manufacturing steps, while two-phase immersion cooling uses low-boiling PFAS fluids to remove heat from servers.
Health and legal risks remain central: PFAS have been linked to cancer and other diseases, persist indefinitely in air, water and soil, and Chemours was recently ordered to pay $450 million to settle a discharge lawsuit.
The expansion could complicate emerging restrictions in Europe, the UK and parts of the US, even as BASF says it will exit PFAS by 2028 and Archroma shifts to PFAS-free alternatives.