Faced with growing evidence that alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are readily available in the commercial refrigeration sector, the European Commission published a report earlier this month concluding that the ban on HFCs in multipack centralised commercial refrigeration will be maintained as adopted in the 2014 European F-Gas Regulation.
A regulation review clause requires the Commission to evaluate the feasibility of a ban on HFCs with a GWP over 150 in multipack centralised refrigeration systems foreseen to enter into force as of 2022 (except in the primary refrigerant circuit of cascade systems where HFCs with a GWP of up to 1,500 may be used). To this end, the Commission assessed the availability of cost-effective, technically feasible, energy-efficient and reliable alternatives to HFCs in this sector.
The findings from a technical assessment indicate that there is no need to amend the original provision, as there is sufficient evidence that already today alternative technologies exist in the market that comply with the future HFC ban. “These include transcritical CO2 centralised systems, indirect centralised systems and stand-alone systems which all are feasible, reliable and energy-efficient alternatives,” the report states.
Moreover, these alternatives are today or will be cost-competitive by 2022, when the requirement enters into force.
