1. Environmental protection industry special industrial funds and environmental protection loan
Considering SF₆ manufacture and recycle requirement of conformity, an environmental protection industry fund having a central enterprise background provided the funding of the project with 7% of annual interest rate and a duration of 5 years. There could be only one limit for up to 70% of the investment total (such as a project costing 300 million yuan was eligible for being financed with 210 million yuan). For instance, the new SF₆ recovery unit of China Giant Chemical Group in 2024 lowered 18% of the cost of finance. Because the loan adopted an overlaid mode of progressive repayment (e.g., borrowing 100 million yuan, repaying 20% annually, and partially interest-free), the actual interest rate came down to 5.2% after policy of overlaid carbon tax credit. The EU’s fluorinated Gases Regulation mandated an 79% reduction in SF₆ use by 2030, leading companies to invest €12 million annually between 2025 and 2030 in installing upgrades. These projects are financed through European Investment Bank (EIB) green bonds with a coupon rate 1.5 percentage points lower than the standard bond.
2. Fluorite resource supply chain finance integration
SF₆ Raw materials accounted for 55% of the cost, and the price of fluorite (calcium fluoride) went up from $260 / ton in 2020 to $480 / ton in 2025, which led companies to tie up long-term buys by way of supply chain finance. Shanshan’s fluorite powder factory built an annual capacity of 300,000 tons with financing of $56.55 million. It supplied fluorite powder to SF₆ manufacturers on forward contracts at a discount of 12% compared to the spot market, while retaining logistics costs of $3,500 per container to $2,200 per container. The model reduced downstream enterprise SF₆ production cost by 9.3% and achieved raw material traceability compliance (in line with the EU REACH standard of nickel release ≤0.02μg/cm²/week).
3. Alternative technology research and development venture capital
To meet the rising cost pressure of sulfur hexafluoride cost (spot price was $85 / kg in 2025), 3M Company’s Novec™ 4710 replacement gas project was financed with $45 million venture capital. Although the dielectric strength was 60% as much as SF₆, its GWP was only 1. Cost balance was achieved in grid application instances below 550kV (when SF₆ price was above $92 / kg the replacement was more economical). Swiss ABB’s g³ Gas mixture (SF₆+CF₃) topped the equipment modification list with 12% equity investment, lowering the cost of equipment modification from $120,000 per unit to $84,000, and driving the penetration rate from 4.2% in 2023 to 11% in 2025.
4. Hedging compliance expenses of the carbon trading market
The European Union carbon Allowance (EUA) price in 2025 was €98 / t, prompting businesses to incorporate SF₆ utilization into carbon asset management. German grid operator TenneT generated an additional €27 million per year by selling carbon credits from the SF₆ recycling project (similar to removing 23,500 tons of CO₂ equivalent for every 1 ton of SF₆ recovered), which financed 35% of the upgrade. Chinese Carbon Emission Trading Market (CEEX) enabled SF emission reduction to be expressed as CCER. In 2024, an UHV project reduced the financing rate by 0.8 percentage points through this channel, saving financial cost of 16 million yuan.
5. Regional policy subsidies and industrial coordination
State Grid of India granted 15% investment subsidy (maximum $5 million) and 5-year tax exemption to SF₆ localization manufacturing, increasing local capability to 82% by 2025 from 65%. In China’s “14th Five-Year Plan” special planning of hazardous waste resource transformation, SF₆ recycling project might get 30% direct subsidy of the cost of equipment purchases (up to 30 million yuan for one project), and enjoyed the VAT charge and return of 50%. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offered a 45Q tax credit ($85 per ton CO₂ equivalent emissions reduction subsidy) for SF₆ alternative technology, which motivated 3M to construct a 12,000 tons per annum Novec™ facility in Texas, raising the project internal rate of return (IRR) from 12% to 19%.