Total ban on HFC and HFO refrigerants
During a recent session of the European Parliament, a proposal was made to introduce a total ban on HFC and HFO refrigerants. The request was put forward by the Vice-Chair of the EU Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), Bas Eickhout.
The HVAC sector reacted immediately, with leading industrialists pointing out that such restrictions are unrealistic for a variety of reasons and that imposing stricter restrictions and bans on fluorinated gases could in fact compromise efforts to reach the objectives set out in the REPowerEU plan.
Overview of Eickhout’s amendments
The draft document proposed by Bas Eickhout contains as many as 113 amendments, focusing on the requested ban on HFC and HFO refrigerants. The total elimination of these substances would mainly affect the following equipment:
- small split air conditioning units;
- split heat pumps;
- systems with over 200kW of power (for which less polluting alternatives are already available, such as ammonia and CO2).
Regarding those systems with a capacity between 12 and 200kW however, the modifications would introduce limits designed to only allow the use of refrigerants with a GWP below 750, from January 1st 2027 (although it seems that exceptions will be allowed in cases where certain safety standards must be respected).
Eickhout maintains that with the recent adoption of regulation IEC-60335-2-40 (which increases load limits for flammable refrigerants), all the requirements for split systems up to 12kW can be met by using propane.
The objections of the HVAC sector to the ban on HFC and HFO refrigerants
The point that created the most opposition among members of the HVAC sector was the timescale for the introduction of these modifications. While a proposal to revise the law on F-Gas envisaged a gradual reduction in the use of these substances from 2048, Eickhout explained that a similar solution would not be decisive enough to permit the attainment of carbon neutrality by 2050, as set out by the European Commission. That is why the total ban on the use of HFC and HFO refrigerants should come into force from 2049.
This last point in particular caused much dissent among those involved in the debate, with operators in the cold sector convinced that the revision proposals for fluorinated gases would bring several difficulties linked to their implementation as well as potentially negative consequences. The planned timescale for eliminating them has been deemed unrealistic by most of those involved and a large number of leading operators in the sector declared that introducing such a policy so hastily would pose a risk to the safety and efficiency of the equipment.
Another point mentioned was that in order to reach the target of independence from fossil fuels set out in the REPowerEU plan, the largescale installation of heat pumps would need to be accelerated, not only for domestic air conditioning, but also in sectors such as cooling in industrial systems, air conditioning in offices, companies etc. As it is not possible to replace these systems overnight, all of those settings would benefit from a gradual transition.
Until the use of heat pumps becomes sufficiently widespread so as to make F-Gases inefficient, it will not be possible to totally eliminate the latter from the equation without risking serious problems. The debate between the various parties goes on and a decision on the actual revisions to be made to the law on hydrofluorocarbons is expected soon. Only then will it be possible to establish the direction the European Union intends to take in years to come.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
