F-MAP: New Horizon Europe project launched to seek pathways beyond fluorinated gases

August 2026 was the world’s hottest month on record, matching temperatures observed in July 2023. This follows the European Copernicus service observing that the past eleven years have been the eleven warmest years on record. As successive years match or exceed recorded temperatures, heatwaves are increasingly common across the globe. As the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes, recurring strong El Niño events, which would increase the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, could raise global cooling demand by around 700 terawatt-hours by 2035. Similarly, the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) notes that cooling demand will increase 3x by 2050.  

 

Many cooling solutions such as air conditioners, freezers, refrigerators and heat pumps use refrigerants, including fluorinated gases (F-gases) such as HFCs, to transfer heat from one environment to another. These F-gases constitute the fastest growing group of greenhouse gas emissions globally, and leak into the atmosphere during the manufacturing, operation, servicing and disposal process. Hence, cooling solutions to counter heatwaves may incur the same climate cost, as F-gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and contribute to global warming. The EU F-gas regulation and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol set out goals to phase-out some of these F-gases, but public and private sector actors continue to seek a framework to guide them towards strategies to shift to more sustainable alternatives.  

 

F-gas Mitigation Assessment and Pathways, or F-MAP, is a Horizon Europe programme funded by the EU, and aims to provide this clarity for decision makers. F-MAP will facilitate the transition to non-fluorinated gases in different sectors and regions, through the development and application of a transparent flexible modelling tool. This tool will be developed with a comprehensive database of F-gas emissions and mitigation measures. It will also integrate technical, economic, environmental, and socio-technical dimensions, and give users an insight into the interaction of regional policy contexts, industry competitiveness, and energy system decarbonisation.  

 

The viability and effectiveness of the tool will be showcased through four case studies across Europe, Asia and Africa, representing the climate conditions and socio-economic and energy system characteristics of diverse ecosystems. These case studies will be based in Italy, North Macedonia, Ghana and South Korea, supported by a local partner familiar with the climate, energy systems, and policies of each country.  

 

F-MAP brings together a consortium of nine organisations. Coordinated by SINTEF Energy Research, the project combines the global expertise of partners based in six countries across Europe, Asia and Africa. These include the IIR (France), the National Research Council (Italy), SINTEF Ocean (Norway), the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Energija (North Macedonia), Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology (Ghana), and Seoul National University (South Korea).  

 

Partner organisations commenced F-MAP at the kick-off meeting on 22nd September 2026, in Trondheim, Norway. Presenting their goals and Work Packages, the meeting served as an avenue for consortium members to discuss data collection, stakeholder engagement and communication and dissemination objectives. F-MAP is driven by collective scientific expertise, gives decision makers the tools to understand what the transition will look like in their contexts, and develop impactful policies in their countries. The proof-of-concept is currently scheduled to release within the first 18 months of the project. 

 

F-MAP is building upon three decades of developments in natural refrigerant technologies, energy efficiency measures, and policy implementations, aiming for the widespread diffusion of novel scientific insights to researchers, industry, civil society and policymakers.