Honeywell is planning to exit the sale of Genetron 404A (R404A) and Genetron AZ-50 (R507) refrigerants in the European Union in 2018 as contracts permit, in order to meet the deadline set by the European Union’s F-Gas regulations, which stipulate the phase-out of high global-warming-potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 2020.
The company is taking this action in anticipation of the expected scarcity of high GWP products due to the F-Gas Regulation phase-down schedule. The F-gas Regulation states how much refrigerant can be placed on the European market each year, based on GWP. It requires significant and increasingly larger and faster reductions of the highest-GWP HFCs well ahead of 2020. Due to the large, mandated reduction in quota to be implemented on January 1, 2018, it is expected that an accelerated phase-out of high-GWP products will be required in order to cope with the phase-down timing. This means that customers need to convert now to more environmentally preferable solutions in order to prepare for the scarcity of high-GWP products anticipated in 2018 and to fully meet the F-Gas requirements by the end of 2019.
“Given the upcoming targets set by the F-Gas regulation, customers will soon encounter reduced availability of high-GWP products,” said Julien Soulet, managing director for Honeywell Fluorine Products in Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. “We encourage refrigeration customers to work closely with Honeywell’s authorized distributors to accelerate the transition to near drop-in replacement products that are available now and fully comply with F-gas regulations.”
Honeywell has developed reduced-GWP alternatives such as Solstice N40 (R448-A) and Genetron Performax LT (R407F) refrigerants, which are available immediately for customer adoption. Both Solstice N40 and Performax LT are proven solutions, with more than 18,000 successful conversions. They can be serviced long-term, beyond any of the F-gas ban dates.
Honeywell and its network of Authorized Distributors are committed to helping customers and partners to adopt the next-generation refrigerants that best meet their needs by providing a complete suite of tools, technical expertise and on-site support. Significantly reduced amounts of 404A/R507 will be made available to bridge shortfalls in the transitional period.
A variety of low-and medium-temperature refrigeration systems in Europe currently use R404A and R507. While these HFC products are non-ozone-depleting, they will be banned by January 1, 2020 per EU regulations due to their high GWPs of 3943 and 3985 (IPCC AR5), respectively. Honeywell’s Solstice N40 and Genetron Performax LT refrigerants are designed for simple and seamless transitions away from high GWP refrigerants, without sacrificing performance or efficiency: