Clean agent fire suppression for data centers
Halocarbon clean agents put out a data hall fire by flooding the room with a gas that leaves no residue. Seventeen companies below sell clean-agent systems, and ten name a halocarbon agent: Kidde’s HFC-227ea and Fluoro-K, Johnson Controls’ SAPPHIRE and FM-200, Fike’s SF 1230, Minimax’s MX 1230 and Rotarex’s RX5112. The big change is supply: 3M set the end of 2025 to stop making fluorinated fluids such as Novec 1230, so specify the FK-5-1-12 fluid by name and by supplier.
| Agents and products | Acoustic design | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryland Fire Protection | Installer / service | Yes | Sapphire (Novec 1230) on a published London-area project; a historical installation | — | Dudley, UK | 2026-11-11 |
| Convergint | Installer / service | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Fike | Manufacturer | Yes | SF 1230 Fire Protection Fluid offered as a one-to-one drop-in Novec 1230 replacement | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Firetrace International | Manufacturer | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| FOGTEC | Manufacturer and installer | Yes | — | — | Cologne, Germany | 2026-11-11 |
| Janus Fire Systems | Manufacturer | Yes | FK-5-1-12, FM-200 and IG-100 inert-gas systems | — | Crown Point, Indiana, United States | 2026-11-11 |
| Johnson Controls (Ansul, Tyco, LPG) | Manufacturer and installer | Yes | SAPPHIRE and FM-200 halocarbon systems (LPG brand) | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Kidde Fire Systems (KiddeFenwal) | Manufacturer | Yes | NATURA inert gas, Fluoro-K and HFC-227ea clean agents | NATURA Acoustic Nozzles: below 110 dB over 500 Hz–10 kHz, measured at 1 m | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Koorsen Fire & Security | Installer / service | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Minimax | Manufacturer | Yes | Oxeo inert gas and MX 1230 systems | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Rotarex Firetec | Manufacturer | Yes | INEREX total-flooding inert gas and RX5112 FK-5-1-12 systems | — | Lintgen, Luxembourg | 2026-11-11 |
| Saval | — | Yes | FK-5-1-12 gas suppression, formerly described as Novec 1230 | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Sciens Building Solutions | Installer / service | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Scutum | — | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| SEVO Systems | Manufacturer | Yes | SMART Cabinet FDS FK-5-1-12 clean-agent system | — | Lenexa, Kansas, United States | 2026-11-11 |
| Summit Fire Protection | Installer / service | — | — | — | — | 2026-11-11 |
| Viking Group | Manufacturer | — | — | — | Michigan, USA | 2026-11-11 |
After 3M’s PFAS exit: what you buy now
How fields are read3M, the original maker of Novec 1230, announced in December 2022 that it would stop making all fluorinated fluids and exit PFAS manufacturing by the end of 2025. The agent itself, FK-5-1-12, did not disappear from data halls. System makers now sell it under their own names, and installers quote it that way.
Who sells it today
- Fike: SF 1230, described as a one-to-one drop-in Novec 1230 replacement.
- Minimax: MX 1230 systems, plus CPS 1230 cabinet protection.
- Rotarex Firetec: the RX5112 system on FK-5-1-12.
- Saval: FK-5-1-12, “formerly Novec 1230”.
- SEVO and Janus: SEVO’s SMART Cabinet FDS and Janus’s FK-5-1-12 range.
Old installs still count
Bryland’s published London project used Sapphire Novec 1230, and its record is marked as a historical installation, not a sign of current fluid production. If your hall runs Novec 1230 cylinders today, ask your service company who supplies recharge fluid and what it is.
What to put in the spec
- The agent by chemical name (FK-5-1-12 or HFC-227ea), not only the brand.
- The fluid supplier and the refill source for the life of the system.
- Room integrity testing, which Bryland and Gielle both list.
- Discharge noise: Kidde publishes below 110 dB at 1 m on its NATURA nozzles.
Compare the other route on inert gas suppression, or find a contractor on the installers list.