Final Adoption of the Revised European F-gas Regulation
On January 29, after a long period of discussions, negotiations and trialogues, the Council of the European Union adopted the revised F-gas regulation to phase down fluorinated gases (F-gases) that cause global warming. These gases are used in heat pumps, air-conditioners, fridges and in some medicines. The implementation of this regulation will require certain efforts for the sector and continued research and development will be needed.
The existing EU legislation from 2014 has already limited the use of these gases and substances significantly. However, the new revised rules will further reduce their emissions into the atmosphere and contribute to limiting global temperature rise, in line with the Paris Agreement.
Under the new rules, the consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) will be completely phased out by 2050. The production of HFC, in terms of production rights allocated by the Commission to produce HFCs, will be phased down to a minimum (15%) as of 2036. Both production and consumption will be phased down according to a tight schedule with a degressive quota allocation.
The revised F-gas regulation introduces a full ban on placing products and equipment containing HFCs on the market for several categories for which it has been assessed to be technologically and economically feasible to switch to F-gas alternatives. This applies to certain domestic refrigerators, chillers, foams and aerosols. It also sets specific dates for the complete phase-out of the use of F-gases in air conditioning, heat pumps and switchgears:
- 2032 for small monoblock heat pumps and air conditioning (<12kW)
- 2035 for split air conditioning and heat pumps, with earlier deadlines for certain types of split systems with higher global warming potential
However, before these dates there will be prohibitions for placing products and equipment on the market, such as stationary air-conditioning and heat pumps, if they contain F-gases with a GWP > 150.
- 2027 for plug-in room, monoblock and other self-contained units ≤ 50 kW. (from 2030 no F-gases will be allowed in units ≤ 12 kW)
- 2030 for other self-contained units > 50 kW
- 2027 for split systems, air-to-water ≤ 12 kW (from 2035 no F-gases will be allowed)
- 2029 for split systems, air-to-air ≤ 12 kW (from 2035 no F-gases will be allowed)
For split systems > 12 kW the GWP limit will be 750 from 2029 and 150 from 2033.
For all new prohibitions, higher GWP F-gases can be used if safety restrictions at the place of use require it.
Next steps
The vote by the Council of the European Union closes the adoption procedure. The regulations will now be signed by the Council and the European Parliament. They will then be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force 20 days later.
Ongoing activities within HPT TCP to support the phase out of F-gases
Within HPT TCP an international collaboration project, Annex 54 Heat pump systems with low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants has been running since 2019 and is soon to be finalized. This project aims at promoting low-GWP refrigerant application to accelerate phase-down of high-GWP HFCs by developing design guidelines of optimized heat pump components and systems for low-GWP refrigerants. The final report will soon be published, but much of the findings have already been published in annual reports etc and can be found here.
Moreover, a new international collaboration project, Annex 64 Safety measures for flammable refrigerants started last year. The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to a broader safe use of flammable refrigerants, since in many applications, the F-gases will be replaces by refrigerants which are flammable. To reach this goal, the aim of the project is to increase the understanding of the risks related to the use of flammable refrigerants, and to develop methods and system designs to maintain the risks at acceptable levels also for systems with larger capacity than what is available on the market today.
Background
Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) are contained in a wide range of products used in everyday life, including fridges, air conditioning and medicines. They are also used in heat pumps and switchgear devices in electric power systems. The effects of F-gases on global warming are up to several hundred thousand times stronger than that of CO2. Today F-gas emissions represent 2.5% of the EU’s total GHG emissions, but in contrast to other GHG emissions they have doubled between 1990 and 2014.
Sources