Overview

The Chemours Company is a publicly traded U.S. specialty-chemicals manufacturer formed in 2015 when DuPont separated a portfolio of businesses focused on performance chemicals. The company operates as an independent producer rather than as a consumer-facing packaged-goods brand, supplying materials and chemical technologies to industrial customers in markets including coatings, plastics, refrigeration, air conditioning, automotive, electronics, mining, energy, water treatment, and general manufacturing. Chemours' principal businesses are Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials. Titanium Technologies produces titanium dioxide, a white pigment used to provide opacity, brightness, and durability in paints, coatings, plastics, laminates, and other applications. Thermal & Specialized Solutions develops refrigerants, heat-transfer fluids, and related technologies, including the Opteon family of lower-global-warming-potential refrigerants. Advanced Performance Materials supplies high-performance fluoropolymers, specialty fluids, and related materials sold under brands such as Teflon, Viton, Krytox, and Nafion. Chemours also operates a Mining Solutions business associated with sodium cyanide and related products used in gold extraction. The company inherited substantial environmental, legal, and financial obligations from the DuPont separation. The most prominent issues concern per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, including historical production and releases of PFOA and GenX-related substances associated with the Washington Works site in West Virginia and Ohio. These matters generated regulatory proceedings, community claims, personal-injury and property litigation, public controversy, and negotiations with DuPont and Corteva over responsibility for legacy liabilities. Chemours has stated that it has reduced emissions, invested in containment and treatment, and developed alternatives and lower-emissions processes, while critics and regulators have continued to scrutinize PFAS contamination and corporate accountability. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, and its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange as CC. Its business model is primarily business-to-business: value comes from formulation expertise, process technology, application support, regulatory knowledge, and long-term supply relationships. The company positions itself around enabling products and systems that require chemical performance, including durable coatings, energy-efficient refrigeration, semiconductor processing, fuel cells, industrial seals, and water-management technologies. Its history is therefore closely linked both to DuPont's industrial-chemicals heritage and to the transition toward more specialized, regulated, and lower-emissions chemical products.

History

Chemours was established as an independent company in 2015 through a separation from E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. DuPont placed a group of performance-chemicals operations into the new entity, including titanium-dioxide pigments, fluoroproducts, fluoropolymers, specialty materials, and mining chemicals. The separation was intended to give the businesses a more focused operating model and allow DuPont to concentrate on its remaining agriculture, nutrition, and industrial-materials activities. Chemours began trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CC. At formation, Chemours inherited businesses with long operating histories inside DuPont. Titanium Technologies was built around Ti-Pure titanium dioxide, used principally in coatings, plastics, and other products requiring whiteness and opacity. The fluoroproducts portfolio included refrigerants and related technologies, while Advanced Performance Materials included established fluoropolymer and specialty-material brands such as Teflon, Viton, Krytox, and Nafion. Mining Solutions supplied sodium cyanide and other chemicals for industrial extraction applications. These businesses gave Chemours a global customer base and manufacturing footprint, but also exposed it to cyclical demand, energy and raw-material costs, environmental regulation, and legacy liabilities. The company's early independent history was heavily affected by environmental controversy connected with PFAS chemistry. At the Washington Works facility on the Ohio River, historical production and releases of PFOA and other fluorinated substances became the subject of regulatory action, scientific studies, community concern, and litigation. The issues predated Chemours' formation, but the separation made allocation of responsibility between Chemours and DuPont a central corporate and legal question. Claims expanded beyond individual and community actions to include public-water systems and broader allegations concerning contamination and disclosure. Chemours argued that its agreements with DuPont provided mechanisms for sharing certain liabilities, while plaintiffs and regulators pursued both companies. Chemours responded by emphasizing emissions reduction, site remediation, containment, water treatment, process changes, and the development of products with lower environmental impact. In its refrigerants business, the Opteon portfolio was positioned as a response to regulatory and market movement away from higher-global-warming-potential substances. The company also marketed its technical capabilities in fluoropolymers, ion-exchange materials, and specialty fluids for demanding applications such as semiconductor manufacturing, automotive systems, industrial equipment, energy conversion, and water treatment. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, Chemours operated through three principal reporting areas: Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials, with Mining Solutions associated with its broader specialty-chemicals portfolio. The company sought to improve margins, manage cyclical markets, and invest in products benefiting from regulatory transitions and performance requirements. Its corporate profile remained closely tied to PFAS-related legal exposure, however, including disputes over historic liabilities and the cost of remediation. In 2023, Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva announced a framework addressing specified drinking-water claims connected with PFAS and related legacy matters. The arrangement did not eliminate every potential claim or regulatory obligation, but it represented a major attempt to define financial responsibility among the companies. Chemours also underwent a leadership transition, with Mark Newman becoming chief executive after Mark Vergnano's tenure. In 2024, the company disclosed further management changes and delays in financial reporting while its board reviewed matters involving senior leadership and reporting processes. Today Chemours remains an active public specialty-chemicals company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Its identity combines inherited DuPont technologies with an independent portfolio aimed at regulated, performance-sensitive applications. The company's future depends on demand for titanium dioxide and fluoroproducts, adoption of lower-emissions refrigerants, growth in energy and water applications, operational execution, and management of PFAS-related obligations and reputational risk.

2023
PFAS settlement framework announced
[10]PFAS settlement framework announcedinvestors.chemours.com
Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva announced an agreement in principle concerning specified PFAS-related drinking-water claims.
2018
Chemours expands lower-global-warming-potential refrigerant portfolio
[9]Chemours expands lower-global-warming-potential refrigerant portfoliochemours.com
The company continued commercializing Opteon refrigerants designed for regulatory and market transitions away from higher-global-warming-potential products.
2015
Chemours becomes an independent company
[1]Chemours company overviewchemours.com
The separation from DuPont was completed and Chemours began operating as an independent public company.
2015
Public trading begins under CC
[8]Public trading begins under CCnyse.com
Chemours shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CC.
2013
DuPont announces planned separation of performance chemicals
[1]Chemours company overviewchemours.com
DuPont announced plans to separate its performance-chemicals businesses into a new independent company, later named Chemours.

Products and positioning

A global specialty-chemicals supplier focused on high-performance materials, refrigerant transition technologies, titanium dioxide pigments, fluoropolymers, and industrial chemicals.

Titanium dioxide pigments
Ti-Pure
Ti-Pure is Chemours' titanium-dioxide pigment portfolio. These pigments are used in architectural and industrial coatings, plastics, laminates, paper-related applications, and other formulations where opacity, brightness, whiteness, durability, and controlled dispersion are important. The line is sold primarily to industrial formulators and manufacturers rather than directly to household consumers.
Refrigerants and heat-transfer fluids
Opteon
Opteon is a family of refrigerants and related thermal-management products developed for air conditioning, refrigeration, transport, automotive, and industrial systems. The portfolio emphasizes lower global-warming potential relative to many legacy refrigerants and supports regulatory transitions in multiple markets. Product suitability depends on equipment design, safety classification, local rules, and technical requirements.
Fluoropolymers and specialty materials
Teflon
Chemours' Teflon-branded materials include fluoropolymer resins, coatings, additives, and processing technologies used for chemical resistance, low friction, nonstick performance, electrical insulation, and high-temperature stability. Industrial uses span wire and cable, semiconductor equipment, cookware-related coatings, automotive components, industrial processing, and other demanding applications.
Fluoroelastomers
Viton
Viton fluoroelastomers are high-performance sealing and rubber materials designed to resist heat, fuels, oils, chemicals, and aggressive operating environments. They are used in seals, gaskets, hoses, and other components for automotive, aerospace, chemical-processing, energy, and industrial equipment applications.
Specialty lubricants
Krytox
Krytox is a family of perfluoropolyether-based lubricants and specialty fluids. The products are selected for chemical inertness, wide temperature performance, low volatility, and compatibility with demanding environments. Applications include aerospace, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial machinery, automotive systems, and equipment exposed to aggressive chemicals or extreme conditions.
Ion-exchange materials
Nafion
Nafion materials are ionomers and membranes used in electrochemical and separation applications. They provide proton conductivity and chemical resistance for technologies including fuel cells, water electrolysis, chlor-alkali processing, water treatment, and laboratory or industrial separations. The portfolio is part of Chemours' advanced-materials positioning in energy and water-related markets.
Mining chemicals
Sodium cyanide
Chemours produces sodium cyanide for industrial mining applications, particularly gold extraction. The product is supplied into a highly regulated market requiring strict transport, storage, handling, worker-safety, and environmental controls. Mining Solutions is distinct from the company's branded consumer-facing materials businesses and serves specialized industrial customers.

Controversies

2026
CF River Watch alleges Chemours broke consent order; Chemours disputes claim
According to Port City Daily, the environmental group CF River Watch has alleged that Chemours Co broke a consent order. Chemours disputes the claim. The report does not specify further details of the alleged violation or the consent order at issue.
Source
2023
PFAS drinking-water claims settlement
Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva announced a proposed framework addressing specified public-water claims involving PFAS. The agreement addressed allocation and payment arrangements but did not resolve every PFAS-related claim or regulatory issue.
Source
2021
North Carolina DEQ fines Chemours over GenX emissions
North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality announced a $305,611 civil penalty against Chemours for exceeding facility-wide GenX annual air-emissions limits at its Fayetteville Works plant. The article also reports that the agency had cited the company for the air-quality violations in late August.
Source
2021
Chemours fined for environmental violations
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality fined Chemours $198,929.16 for environmental violations, including failure to comply with conditions of a 2019 consent order.
Source
2019
PFAS contamination and Washington Works litigation
Chemours continued to face lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny, and community claims concerning historical PFOA, GenX-related substances, and other PFAS associated with manufacturing operations, especially at Washington Works.
Source
2019
New York sues manufacturers over PFAS contamination
In a lawsuit filed by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, The Chemours Co., 3M Co., DuPont de Nemours Inc. and other companies were accused of playing a role in making and selling persistent chemicals that contaminated the environment. The suit also alleged that substances in firefighting foam threatened public health and damaged state natural resources.
Source 1 Source 2
2017
Leadership crisis connected with PFAS liabilities
Chemours' board became involved in a dispute over the company's response to expected PFAS-related liabilities and its legal relationship with DuPont. The episode included litigation and public disagreement over the adequacy of reserves and disclosures.
Source

Marketing campaigns

2020Sustainability and emissions-reduction positioning
Global
Chemours communicated goals and operating initiatives related to emissions reduction, responsible manufacturing, product stewardship, and the development of solutions for energy and water applications.
Outcome. The initiative became a recurring part of Chemours' corporate positioning and public reporting while environmental groups continued to scrutinize the company's PFAS legacy.
Source
2018Opteon refrigerant transition program
Global
Chemours promoted Opteon refrigerants as equipment operators and manufacturers moved toward lower-global-warming-potential alternatives driven by regulation and customer demand.
Outcome. The program strengthened the visibility of the Opteon portfolio as a transition product family, although adoption remained dependent on equipment compatibility and regional regulation.
Source

Brand decisions

2023
Enter PFAS settlement framework with DuPont and CortevaOther
Background
Public-water systems and other claimants pursued compensation for alleged PFAS contamination, while the companies disputed and allocated historical liabilities.
Action taken
Chemours announced an agreement in principle with DuPont and Corteva covering specified drinking-water claims and related allocation arrangements.
Aftermath
The framework reduced uncertainty for certain claims but did not end all PFAS litigation, regulation, remediation, or reputational concerns.
Announced settlement commitment. (2023)
Source
2018
Prioritize higher-value specialty and transition applicationsStrategy
Background
Chemours faced cyclical commodity exposure and increasing regulatory pressure on certain legacy chemistries.
Action taken
The company emphasized advanced materials, lower-global-warming-potential refrigerants, energy and water applications, and operational improvement.
Aftermath
The strategy supported a more specialty-oriented identity while leaving the company exposed to titanium-dioxide cycles and PFAS-related obligations.
Source
2015
Separate DuPont performance-chemicals businesses into ChemoursM&A
Background
DuPont sought to create a more focused company for performance chemicals while concentrating its remaining operations on other markets.
Action taken
DuPont transferred selected businesses and related obligations to Chemours, which became an independent public company.
Aftermath
Chemours gained established brands and global operations but also inherited significant environmental and legal complexity.
Source

Recent events

2024
Chemours reports leadership departures amid delayed financial reporting[6]Chemours SEC filingssec.gov
Leadership change · Other
The company disclosed the departure of its chief executive and chief financial officer and delayed its annual report while its board reviewed management and reporting matters; subsequent disclosures described changes in leadership.
2024
Denise Dignam appointed president and chief executive officer[25]Denise Dignam被任命为总裁兼首席执行官chemours.com
Leadership change
Chemours appointed Denise Dignam, previously an executive leading major operating segments and interim CEO since February 2024, as president and chief executive officer and elected her to the board.
2024
Chemours reports leadership changes and operational priorities[26]科慕报告领导层变动与运营重点investors.chemours.com
Leadership change
The company continued to emphasize cost discipline, operational reliability, portfolio management, and its refrigerant and advanced-materials businesses amid difficult market conditions.
2023
Chemours appoints Mark Newman as chief executive officer[7]Chemours investor relations news releasesinvestors.chemours.com
Leadership change
Mark Newman succeeded Mark Vergnano as chief executive during a leadership transition at the specialty-chemicals company.
2023
Chemours expands lower-global-warming-potential refrigerant offerings[27]科慕扩大低全球变暖潜能值制冷剂产品chemours.com
Product launch · Regulation
Chemours continued commercial development and customer adoption of Opteon refrigerants in response to the transition away from higher-global-warming-potential refrigerants.
2021
Chemours reorganized Fluoroproducts into two operating segments[28]科慕公司将氟产品业务重组为两个运营部门chemours.com
Product generation
Chemours announced the creation of Thermal & Specialized Solutions and Advanced Performance Materials from its former Fluoroproducts segment. The change separated thermal-management and specialty-fluids activities from fluoropolymer, membrane, elastomer, and lubricant businesses.
2021
Mark Newman succeeded Mark Vergnano as CEO[29]马克·纽曼接替马克·韦尔尼亚诺出任首席执行官chemours.com
Leadership change
Chemours announced that Chief Operating Officer Mark Newman would become president and chief executive officer on July 1, 2021, succeeding founding CEO Mark Vergnano, who became non-executive chairman for the balance of 2021.
2015
Chemours becomes an independent public company after separation from DuPont[1]Chemours company overviewchemours.com
M&A · Other
DuPont completed the separation of its performance-chemicals businesses, creating Chemours as a separately traded company.
2015
Chemours began independent trading after DuPont spin-off[21]荷兰法院裁定科慕公司对多德雷赫特工厂相关污染负有责任en.wikipedia.org
M&A · Other
DuPont completed the separation of Chemours on July 1, 2015, creating an independently traded chemical company with the former parent’s titanium dioxide, fluoroproducts, and related performance-chemicals businesses.