Innovative refrigerant recovery pilot is designed to reduce harmful emissions while supporting local businesses
Woodcliff Lake N.J. – September 8, 2025 – Hudson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN), a leading provider of innovative and sustainable refrigerant products and services to the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration industry – and one of the nation’s largest refrigerant reclaimers has partnered with DC Sustainable Energy Utility (“DCSEU”), to launch a new Refrigerant Recovery and Reclamation (RR&R) Pilot.
This first-of-its-kind initiative, led by a utility incentive program, is designed to reduce harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while creating new revenue opportunities for local businesses in the District. Unlike traditional utility programs that solely measure success in energy savings— megawatts (MW), megawatt-hours (MWh), or million British thermal units (MMBtu)— this effort reduces GHG emissions by rewarding the use of Hudson’s technology to recover refrigerants during servicing, to reduce the practice of venting refrigerants into the atmosphere. Because the DCSEU’s performance goals are based on total GHG reductions, including both energy and non-energy measures, the organization is uniquely positioned to support and fund this innovative climate-focused strategy.
Through this pilot, Hudson provides HVAC contractors with training on recovery best practices, supplies proper storage containers for used refrigerants, covers shipping and logistics, and offers their own financial incentives for recovered refrigerant in addition to those provided by the DCSEU. This training and financial incentive helps contractors offset the costs of best-in-class recovery equipment and processes while also providing an additional revenue stream for their business.
“Hudson is proud to partner with the DCSEU in this first of a kind utility sponsored GHG emissions reduction pilot. According to the 2024 RMI report, refrigerant recovery, reclamation and reuse can result in 70% less emissions compared to using newly manufactured refrigerant,” said Kate Houghton Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Hudson. “Increasing awareness around the importance of recovering refrigerant from every unit and providing incentives to contractors for doing so is key to growth of reclamation and we are excited to see the early positive results of this innovative pilot.”
Refrigerants, when leaked into the atmosphere, can have thousands of times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. By ensuring that refrigerants are reclaimed and recycled by contractors working on DCSEU programs — like the Affordable Home Electrification Program (AHEP), which decommissions older HVAC systems — this pilot not only protects the environment but also strengthens local businesses, adds jobs, bolsters emissions reductions within existing DCSEU programs, and contributes to a circular refrigerant economy in the HVAC industry. Importantly, the pilot converts what was an expense for contractors into a revenue stream while also providing these benefits. This effort helps prevent potent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and provides the District with an additional avenue to reduce its carbon footprint.
“Our partnership with Hudson ensures that refrigerants are handled responsibly within the District and kept out of the atmosphere, directly aligning with the District’s climate action goals, while also supporting contractors to ensure that recovery is happening,” said Ben Burdick, Managing Director. “We have seen positive early results from our pilot with Hugee Corporation demonstrating both the feasibility and importance of this work.”
