UE: pénuries de HFC et hausses de prix des HFC à fort GWP
Several refrigeration associations in the EU have warned of severe refrigerant supply problems in their countries. This situation is linked to the implementation from January 2018 of a decrease of 37% of the quota allocated to producers/importers for placing HFCs on the market within the 2014 F-gas Regulation. Since this quota system is based on CO2 equivalents, refrigerant producers and suppliers are effectively able to place on the market far more low-GWP than higher-GWP refrigerants.
This has led to record price increases of up to 60% on high-GWP refrigerants R404A and R507A, and up to 30% on R410A in December 2017. Even the lower-GWP R404A alternatives R448A and R449A face price increases of up to 20%. In France, refrigeration industry association SNEFFCA noted a multiplication by 5 of R404A prices from early 2017.
This also led to refrigerant shortages in several countries including Austria, France, Germany and Spain.
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