Dear subscriber,

In this EFCTC January 2026 newsletter, we report on the study ‘The Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their role as enablers in the competitiveness of European industry’ which was requested by the ITRE Committee of the EU Parliament and prepared by RPA Ltd.  The study recommends permanent or long-term derogations for critical sectors, extending transition periods for green technologies, and excluding F-gases from the restriction, and instead focus all regulatory control of F-gases into the existing F-gas Regulation. The study report summarises that for F-gas refrigerants in heat pumps that alternatives face technical, economic and safety constraints.

In a later item in this newsletter, we report on the use of heat pumps, a key focus of the study report for ITRE, at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. Five heat pumps using HFO-1234ze(E) were installed in addition to four heat pumps installed a few years ago. The airport uses Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems, which store thermal energy underground. New buildings are equipped with TES, and existing buildings are transitioning away from gas, leading to significant reductions in CO₂ emissions.

In four news items we explain and summarise recent papers on the atmospheric degradation of HFOs and HCFOs. A recent paper on reaction of HFOs and HCFOs with ozone, reports the formation of very small yields of HFC-23, PFC-14, or CFC-13, depending on the HFO or HCFO. The paper shows that their indirect GWPs due to formation of these degradation products are extremely small from 0.03 for HFO-1234yf to 3.3 for HFO-1234ze(E).  Using the data in the paper, we compare current emissions of these degradation products from these HFOs and HCFOs to emissions estimated from atmospheric monitoring and conclude that they are currently insignificant.

A publication reports annual emissions for NW Europe (Belgium, Germany, France, UK, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) by 2023 for widely used HFO-1234yf, HFO-1234ze(E), and HCFO-1233zd(E) and extrapolates these to the EU27+. We compare the extrapolated EU27+ emissions with emissions forecasts published by the UBA in 2021 and two other forecasts. Compared to emissions derived from atmospheric observation, the UBA estimated significantly higher emissions for 2020 for HFO-1234yf and HFO-1234ze(E), although it underestimates emissions of HCFO-1233zd(E). We discuss the emission trends to 2030, including the UBA forecasts.

The formation and distribution and deposition of atmospheric TFA from the gas phase oxidation of fifteen HFOs and HCFOs using hypothetical scenarios has been reported. The HFOs and HCFOs have a range of atmospheric lifetimes and the authors state that their present work quantifies the spatial distribution of TFA deposition following release of these substances, with the distribution being influenced by their atmospheric lifetimes.  Conclusions from the paper are summarised.

Finally, a paper quantifies the contribution of TFA formed from prospective HFO-1234ze(E)-based pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs), using a global atmospheric model coupled with detailed watershed modelling. The authors conclude that taken together, their findings indicate that even if HFO-1234ze(E) were to become the sole medical propellant in future pMDIs of all manufacturers, it would be expected to lead to only very low additional quantities of TFA in surface waters and soils in the assessed basins at levels orders of magnitude below available human health or ecological risk thresholds. The authors state that annual global TFA deposition due to future pMDI usage represents less than 0.5% of current annual global emissions of TFA.

Do you want to learn more about EFCTC and fluorocarbons? More information is on the fluorocarbons.org website.

Thank you for your continued interest in EFCTC.

PFAS Study for ITRE Committee of the EU Parliament recommends F-gases exclusion from the scope of the UPFAS restriction

The study ‘The Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their role as enablers in the competitiveness of European industry’ was requested by the ITRE Committee of the EU Parliament and prepared by RPA Ltd.  The study examines how PFAS support EU industrial competitiveness and the potential impact of a full or partial restriction. Focusing on six key fluoropolymers and F-gases used in aerospace, defence, green energy, and semiconductor sectors, it finds that substitution is often unfeasible, particularly in aerospace, defence and semiconductors. Substantial economic losses and job impacts are predicted under both above restriction options, with risks to EU’s global competitiveness.

Click on "read more" to read the full article. 

Recent paper on reaction of HFOs and HCFOs with ozone

The paper by Garavagno et al. “Atmospheric Oxidation of Hydrofluoroolefins and Hydrochlorofluoroolefins by Ozone Produces HFC-23, PFC-14, and CFC-13” [1] reports laboratory measurements and quantum-chemical calculations, to explore the degradation mechanisms and quantify the yields of GHG and ODS products from ozonolysis of four HFOs and one HCFO. The paper then uses atmospheric models to estimate the yields of degradation products from the HFOs and HCFOs and provides estimates of indirect GWPs. It then estimates the quantities of degradation products generated due to arbitrary potential emissions of the HFOs and HCFOs. The paper states that “Ozonolysis contributed <1% to the atmospheric removal of all HFO and HCFO compounds studied, with only a small fraction of this loss pathway leading to HFC-23, PFC-14, or CFC-13.”

Click on "read more" to read the full article. 

Emissions of HFOs and HCFOs from Europe and comparison with forecasts

A pre-print [1] reports annual emissions for NW Europe (Belgium, Germany, France, UK, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) by 2023 for widely used HFO-1234yf, HFO-1234ze(E), and HCFO-1233zd(E) and extrapolates these to the EU27+. Atmospheric observations (mole fraction concentrations) reported from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) network for European observations are used to determine emission trends and regional distribution. For Northwest Europe, emissions of HFO-1234yf increased from <100 tonnes/year in 2014 to 1500 tonnes/year in 2023, presumably due to its introduction in the mobile air conditioning and refrigeration sectors. Over the same time period, HFC-134a emissions have not increased supporting this interpretation.  HFO-1234ze(E) emissions were low during 2014–2017, followed by a rapid increase in 2018/2019, potentially due its introduction as an aerosol propellant, after which they increased more slowly to 960 tonnes/year in 2023. HCFO-1233zd(E) emissions are derived from 2017 onwards, showing a steady increase from 200 tonnes/year to 1000 tonnes/year in 2023. HFO and HCFO observations from most AGAGE sites globally are also reported to the end of 2024 and the dense European station network is used in a detailed modelling study to estimate 10 years (2014–2023) of emissions from Northwest (NW) Europe.

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Global modelling study of TFA deposition from HFOs and HCFOs

The formation and distribution and deposition of atmospheric TFA from the gas phase oxidation of fifteen HFOs and HCFOs has been reported [1]. This global atmospheric modelling studies of the release and oxidation of these HFOs and HCFOs, using hypothetical scenarios with annual emissions of 1, 10 and 100 Gg (1000; 10,000; and 100,000 tonnes/year) for each of the HFOs with results for individual HFOs are reported separately and compared. The scenarios use lower and upper limit TFA yields (explanatory note -these are similar to the central estimates and theoretical upper limits reported by EEAP [2]). 

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Modelling of TFA from HFO-1234ze(E) released by prospective pressurised metered-dose inhaler

HFO-1234ze(E) has an ultra-low global warming potential (AR6 value, 1.37) and has been developed as a propellant for use in pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs). To quantify the contribution of TFA formed from prospective HFO-1234ze(E)-based pMDIs, a global atmospheric model coupled with detailed watershed modelling has been applied by Tewari et al. [1]. The atmospheric model incorporates the master chemical mechanism for HFO-1234ze(E) and assumes pMDIs as its sole emission source. Based on global pMDI volume-sales data for a single year (2022), the authors estimated HFO-1234ze(E) emissions at 4736 tonnes/year.  The state-of-the-art study coupled global chemical transport modelling with TFA surface fate and transport modelling to estimate surface water, sediment, and surface soil concentrations of TFA over a period of 30 years due to continued, global sales of prospective pMDIs using only HFO-1234ze(E) as the medical propellant. The authors chose the Hudson River (USA), Rhine River (Germany), and Cauvery River (India) as three representative watersheds, also known as drainage basins or catchment areas and applied a fate-and-transport model to estimate TFA concentrations in surface water, soil, and sediments over 30 years.

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Heat pumps using HFO-1234ze(E) reduce CO2 emissions at Schipol Airport

Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands aimed to achieve sustainable heating and cooling for its office buildings, terminals, and piers. Five heat pumps using HFO-1234ze(E) were installed in addition to four heat pumps installed a few years ago. The airport uses Thermal Energy Storage (TES) systems, which store thermal energy underground. New buildings are equipped with TES, and existing buildings are transitioning away from gas, leading to significant reductions in CO₂ emissions.

Click "read more" to read the full article