“The forces of nature act according to a secret harmony
that it is the task of man to discover”
REGULATION F-GAS NO. 517/2014
European Regulation 517/2014 in force since 01 January 2015 repeals the previous EC regulation no. 842/2006 to introduce new provisions on the use, import, labelling and bans on the use of HFC gases in Europe with a greenhouse effect.
The Regulation introduces some changes in this regard:
- Prevention of greenhouse gas emissions in the environment,
- Leak Control in equipment and leakage control systems themselves,
- Record Keeping and staff Training/Certification,
- HFC gas recovery,
- Restriction on the market introduction of greenhouse gases
- Labelling on products and equipment containing these gases,
- Preload equipment with HFC
- Fgas Quote System and transfer/authorisation of the same.
One of the most important parts of this new Regulation is the introduction of Fgas Quotas for the restriction of these products, with a very ambitious scale for reducing the Quantities available for the European market.
Fgas Quotas are calculated using the average of the legal imports in the period 2009-2012 as reference, for 100 this value:
- 89% is intended for Historical Companies called Incumbents.
- 11% is intended for the other new entry companies, called new-entry.
This system of Quotas basically introduces that the import/production of these HFC gases in Europe can be imported/produced only by the companies that have a Fgas Quota.
As of January 1, 2018 the Regulation introduced the Fgas Authorisation mechanism for the importation of pre-loaded systems containing greenhouse gases into the EC, in particular for split Air Conditioners and/or other equipment containing HFC gas.
The Regulation has substantially introduced the need to reduce the GWP of the various products, introducing bans of use for certain gases in certain applications, this should lead to the research and development of new technologies or new applications of low GWP products in the various uses.
In fact, the Regulation imposes a drastic reduction in the emission of HFC greenhouse gases, with a 79% reduction by 2030.
F-GAS PHASE DOWN PROFILE
EC 517/2014 APPLICATION PROHIBITIONS
| PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT |
MARKETING PROHIBITIONS (ANNEX V – EC 517/2014) |
| Domestic refrigerators and freezers containing HFC with GWP equal to or greater than 150. | 01 January 2015 |
| Technical aerosols that contain HFC with GWP equal to or greater than 150, except those that comply with national safety standards or when they are used for medical applications. | 01 January 2018 |
| Fixed refrigeration plants that contain, or whose operation depends on, HFC gases with GWP equal to or greater than 2500, except equipment intended for an application designed to cool products at temperatures below -50 ° C.
Portable air conditioning systems for rooms (hermetically sealed equipment that the end user can transport between rooms) containing HFCs with GWP equal to or greater than 150 Extruded polystyrene foams (XPS) containing HFC with GWP equal to or greater than 150, except those complying with national safety standards. Commercial refrigerators and freezers (hermetically sealed equipment) containing HFC with GWP equal to or greater than 2500. |
01 January 2020 |
| Commercial refrigerators and freezers (hermetically sealed equipment) containing HFC with GWP equal to or greater than 150.
Centralised multipack refrigeration systems for commercial use with a nominal capacity of 40 kW or greater that contain, or whose operation depends on these fluorinated greenhouse gases with GWP equal to or greater than 150, except in the primary cooling circuit of cascade systems where fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP lower than 1500 can be used |
01 January 2022 |
| Foams containing HFC with GWP equal to or greater than 150, except those complying with national safety standards. | 01 January 2023 |
| Single split air conditioning systems containing less than 3 kg of fluorinated greenhouse gases, which include, or whose operation depends on, these fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP equal to or greater than 750. | 01 January 2025 |
Sinteco Srl is a Historical company (Incumbent)
and holds F-Gas Quotas for the importation of HFCs in Europe
as per the European Commission
Implementation Decision dated 31-10-2014.
Sinteco is committed to the fight against illegally sold HFCs. We are committed to preventing the growth of the black market by working closely with our supply chain partners and to making sure that we use only reliable sources.
FGAS AUTHORISATIONS
Are you looking for Fgas Authorisations for the import of pre-loaded systems? Contact us!
Sinteco is able to provide you with Fgas Authorisations and all the assistance to be able to use them in compliance with EC Regulation 517/2014.
FGAS QUOTAS
Do you have Fgas Quotas and don’t know how to manage them or how to best exploit them? Contact us!
Sinteco is able to give you all the assistance to be able to use the Fgas Quotas together without losing them.