PFAS Makers Ramp Up Production to Supply AI Data Centers

Major manufacturers of PFAS — the so-called "forever chemicals" linked to cancer and other serious health conditions — are planning significant production increases to serve the booming artificial intelligence industry, according to new research from ChemSec, a Swedish chemicals watchdog.

A survey of the ten largest PFAS producers found that nine have expansion plans underway, with many explicitly framing their investments around AI infrastructure needs. The chemicals play critical roles in both semiconductor fabrication and next-generation data center cooling systems that tech companies are deploying to manage the massive heat output of AI workloads.

Why it matters

The expansion threatens to flood the environment with additional volumes of chemicals that never break down naturally and already contaminate the blood of nearly every person on Earth. The timing is particularly concerning as regulators in Europe, the UK, and parts of the US are moving toward restrictions on PFAS use — efforts that could be undermined by this production surge tied to AI's explosive growth.

Production expansions span the globe

Japan-based Daikin announced it is launching a "data center hub" and plans to "maintain and expand our top share in the industry by expanding sales of existing fluorine products and introducing new products," according to details first reported by The Guardian.

French multinational Arkema is building a $60 million production facility in Kentucky specifically for refrigerants, stating the investment "will enable us to follow the rapid expansion of data centers' cooling needs."

US producer Chemours — recently ordered to pay $450 million to settle a lawsuit over PFAS discharges — is expanding to meet demand from "advanced data centers and AI hardware," promoting what it calls "innovative liquid cooling solutions."

Other companies increasing production include Japanese multinational AGC, Chinese conglomerate Dongyue, India's Gujarat Fluorochemicals, Russia's HaloPolymer, Mexico's Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials, US-based Solstice, and Belgian multinational Syensqo.

Only two companies bucked the trend: Swiss firm Archroma is switching to PFAS-free alternatives, while German giant BASF has committed to exiting PFAS production by 2028.

The AI connection

PFAS are central to two key AI infrastructure technologies. In "two-phase immersion cooling" systems, servers sit in pools of PFAS fluid with low boiling points. As processors heat up, the liquid boils and draws heat away as vapor, which then condenses and recycles — a process marketed as more water- and energy-efficient than traditional cooling.

In semiconductor manufacturing, PFAS appear in as many as 1,000 distinct fabrication steps at the nanometric level, according to a recent Danske Bank investor note. The bank warned that PFAS represent "the hidden risk of the AI boom" with "escalating potential for multibillion-euro remediation and litigation liabilities."

Producers also cited lithium-ion battery production for electric vehicles and consumer electronics as a parallel growth area. Gujarat Fluorochemicals' chief executive Bir Kapoor identified batteries as one of several "sunrise sectors" alongside data centers and semiconductors, saying "there is a tremendous growth opportunity there."

Health and environmental concerns mount

The carbon-fluorine bonds in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are among the strongest in organic chemistry, making them resistant to heat, water, and corrosion — but also virtually indestructible in nature. Scientists warn their environmental accumulation has already breached a planetary boundary, despite existing for less than a century.

Research links PFAS exposure to cancer, liver disease, kidney issues, high cholesterol, and birth defects. The chemicals now contaminate the blood of nearly every living person.

"These companies' expansion plans show that unless governments and regulators insist on a rapid phase-out, we will face a new tidal wave of forever chemicals," said Anne-Sofie Bäckar, ChemSec's executive director.

ChemSec sent blood test kits to the chief executives of all European companies in its survey, encouraging them to test and publicly share their own PFAS levels. "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," Bäckar said.

These details were first reported by The Guardian.