Hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerants will be banned by the end of the decade as policy makers deal with the rapid rise of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) contamination.
TFA is a type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS aka forever chemical) and is by far the most abundant PFAS in the environment.
In fact, refrigerants are a key source of TFA contamination, according to Marc Chasserot, founder & CEO of ATMO.
Speaking at ATMOsphere Australia 2025 yesterday, Chasserot predicted HFOs will be banned in the European Union (EU) from 2028/29 onwards.
He said restrictions will begin with PFAS in early 2027.
“We will have an EU law banning PFAS by 2026 or early 2027 then there will be an 18-month implementation period before it takes effect,” Chasserot explained.
“This will be followed by a HFO ban from 2028/29.”
A PFAS review is already underway in Europe with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and authorities from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden considering restrictions on HFC and HFO refrigerants.
ECHA experts meet every three months and Chasserot participated in the last meeting and will return for the next meeting in June.
Chasserot is part of the PFAS-free Cooling & Heating Coalition which was established to advise policy makers on commercially available alternatives to HFO refrigerants.
“Bans are only introduced if there are commercially available alternatives,” he said.
Chasserot cannot discuss details about the review meetings after signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) but believes the initial ban will apply to refrigeration before moving to chillers and heat pumps further down the road.
“By next year there will be a period of review by stakeholders then it will go to the EU Commission where they will propose a new law,” he said.
Chasserot would like to see a similar coalition created in Australia to advise government locally about the importance of TFA-free products and the availability of alternatives.
He said discussion around low GWP refrigerants has dominated the HVACR industry for the past decade but this will shift to PFAS which will be the defining issue for industry over the next decade.
Chasserot presented the TFA formation potential of a long-list of HFC and HFO refrigerants at the conference.
Also speaking at the event was Dr Christopher Hansen from UNSW Chemistry who talked about the impact of HFO emissions.
Hansen said previous generations couldn’t predict environmental disasters like the hole in the ozone layer.
“They didn’t have the sophisticated modelling we have today, the impacts were unknown,” he said.
“However this isn’t the case today, there is no excuse. We can predict the impact of HFO emissions.”