The F-gas Regulation (EU) 2024/573: what it means for refrigeration and heat pumps

What the regulation covers

The regulation covers fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases): HFCs, PFCs, SF6 and the other substances listed in Annex I, and unsaturated HFCs and HCFCs, often called HFOs, in Annex II ^[1]. For the refrigeration and heat pump sector it covers every stage: import and sale of refrigerants, new products placed on the market, installation, servicing, leak checks, record keeping and recovery when the equipment is taken out of service. Ozone-depleting substances such as R22 are covered instead by a separate regulation, (EU) 2024/590 ^[4].

In most cases the person responsible for meeting the requirements is the operator: the natural or legal person who exercises actual power over the technical functioning of the equipment. This is usually the owner, but it can be someone else if that has been agreed and that person really has control.

Ban on releases and duty to prevent leaks

Intentional release of F-gases is prohibited. The operator must take measures to prevent leakage, and a leak that is found must be repaired without undue delay. After the repair, a certified person must check the equipment again, at the earliest after 24 hours of operation and at the latest one month after the repair, to show that the repair was effective (Article 4(5)). For some mobile equipment the check may be done directly after the repair ^[1].

Leak checks: thresholds and intervals

How often equipment must be checked for leaks depends on the refrigerant charge expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (kg × GWP / 1,000). For pure HFOs the thresholds are given in kilograms instead ^[1].

Equipment with 500 t CO2e or more must also have a leakage detection system that alerts the operator, and the system must be checked at least once a year ^[1]. Hermetically sealed equipment that is labelled as such and contains less than 10 t CO2e does not need leak checks. For pure HFOs the thresholds are 1 kg, 10 kg and 100 kg, and labelled hermetically sealed equipment below 2 kg is exempt ^[1]. The step-by-step procedure is in the guide to leak checks.

Records

For equipment that must be leak-checked, the operator must keep records. They must show, among other things, the type and quantity of refrigerant installed, added and recovered, who carried out the work and their certificate number, the dates and results of the leak checks and the measures taken. The records must be kept for at least five years ^[1].

Certification

Installation, repair, maintenance, servicing, leak checks, recovery and decommissioning must be carried out by certified persons, and companies that carry out this work for others must also be certified. Under 2024/573 the training must also cover alternatives to F-gases, for example carbon dioxide, ammonia and hydrocarbons. The minimum requirements for certificates for stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, and for refrigeration units of trucks, trailers, containers and railway wagons, are in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215 ^[2]. How certification is organised differs between countries. How it works in Sweden is described in the article on Swedish rules. The implementing regulation defines the certificate types for persons: A1 (all work with F-gases and hydrocarbons), A2 (the same for equipment with less than 3 kg, or less than 6 kg in labelled hermetically sealed systems), B (CO2), C (ammonia), D (recovery of F-gases only, below the same limits) and E (leak checks only, without breaking into the circuit). Certificates under the old Regulation (EU) 2015/2067 (categories I–IV) correspond to A1, A2, D and E, but may only be used further after the knowledge update required by Article 10 of 2024/573.

Service bans for refrigerants with a high GWP

From 1 January 2025 it is prohibited to use F-gases with a GWP of 2,500 or more to service and maintain refrigeration equipment. Reclaimed or recycled gases with such a high GWP may still be used until 31 December 2029. For air conditioning and heat pumps the corresponding ban applies from 1 January 2026, and reclaimed or recycled gas may be used until the end of 2031. From 1 January 2032 the limit for stationary refrigeration equipment is tightened to GWP 750, but reclaimed or recycled gas may still be used. The exemptions cover military equipment and equipment that cools products below −50 °C. For the GWP 750 ban from 2032, equipment that cools nuclear power plants is also exempt ^[1]. These exemptions apply only to refrigeration equipment, not to air conditioning and heat pumps (Article 13(3)–(5)).

For a plant with R404A (GWP about 3,900), this means that virgin R404A may no longer be added. A leak is repaired and the system topped up with reclaimed gas, or the refrigerant is replaced. The retrofit calculator shows which alternatives fit.

Bans on new products

Annex IV prohibits placing certain new products on the market, with a date for each product group ^[1]. Some examples that affect the refrigeration sector:

• Stationary refrigeration equipment containing F-gases with a GWP of 2,500 or more: banned since 2020, except equipment for cooling below −50 °C.
• Centralised refrigeration systems (multipack) for commercial use of 40 kW or more with a GWP of 150 or more: banned since 2022. In the primary circuit of a cascade system, F-gases with a GWP below 1,500 may be used.
• Self-contained commercial refrigerators and freezers: HFCs with a GWP of 150 or more banned since 2022, other F-gases with a GWP of 150 or more since 2025.
• Air-to-water split systems up to and including 12 kW with a GWP of 150 or more: banned from 1 January 2027, except where needed to meet safety requirements. This applies, for example, to heat pumps with R32 (GWP 675) ^[6].
• Air-to-air split systems up to and including 12 kW with a GWP of 150 or more: banned from 2029. From 2035 they may not contain F-gases at all, except where needed to meet safety requirements.
• Exemption for compressed air dryers: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1975 of 8 September 2026 allows refrigerated compressed air dryers (chillers and self-contained units up to 50 kW) with a GWP of 150 or more to be placed on the market from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030, if they carry the label required by Article 12(2) ^[8].

The annex is long and has many conditions. Read the row for the product group concerned in the regulation before you choose a refrigerant for a new project. Annex IV also covers chillers: according to the Commission, chillers above 12 kW with a GWP of 750 or more may not be placed on the market from 1 January 2027.

Labelling

Refrigeration equipment, air conditioning and heat pumps that contain F-gases may only be placed on the market with a label (Article 12) ^[1]. The label must show that the product contains F-gases, the designation of the gas, the quantity in weight and in tonnes CO2e, and the GWP. Hermetically sealed equipment is marked as such. It must be legible and indelible, sit by the service ports or on the part that holds the gas, and be written in the official language of the Member State where the product is placed on the market. If the gas is changed in a retrofit, the equipment must be relabelled with the new information (Article 12(3)) ^[1].

The format is set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2174, which applies from 1 January 2025 and replaces (EU) 2015/2068. The label carries the text "contains fluorinated greenhouse gases" and, for equipment charged on site, a place to enter the quantity filled ^[7]. The retrofit calculator has a checklist that includes relabelling.

Quotas and the HFC phase-out

The quantity of HFCs that may be placed on the EU market is limited by quotas that fall step by step and reach zero in 2050 ^[1][5]. The quotas apply to producers and importers, but they affect everyone through price and availability: refrigerants with a high GWP become more expensive and harder to obtain long before they are banned. That is why it pays to choose a refrigerant with a low GWP already for new installations.

Older rules that no longer apply

Commission Regulations (EC) No 1497/2007 and 1516/2007 with standard requirements for leak checks were repealed by (EU) 2026/1444 without being replaced ^[3]. Leak checks are now carried out with modern methods according to good practice and the manufacturer's instructions.