The Coalition for PFAS Free Cooling & Heating has been launched, with ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, as a founding member.
The new organization will be dedicated to promoting natural refrigerants as alternatives to harmful PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in cooling and heating systems and supporting an ambitious European PFAS regulation.
In addition to ATMOsphere, founding members of the coalition include Fenagy, Secon, Teko, Konvekta, Refra and Güntner. Additional members will be joining, beginning in November. The coalition is open to other companies focused on the use of PFAS-free natural refrigerants – CO2 (R744), ammonia (R717), hydrocarbons, air and water, all found in nature – in HVAC&R applications.
Because PFAS refrigerants are increasingly considered a potential threat to human health and the environment, the Coalition for PFAS Free Cooling and Heating intends to promote restrictions on these refrigerants and their degradation products over the next two years through the impending EU PFAS Restriction Regulation. This will include engaging with policymakers and offering detailed research and technical data to prove that there are many commercially available alternatives today.
“It’s not easy for policymakers to address this PFAS file, especially with regard to refrigerants, which are the largest and fastest growing source of PFAS in Europe,” said Marc Chasserot, CEO of ATMOsphere. “We want to make sure that policymakers have accurate data so that they are fully informed about alternatives as they evaluate this critical issue.”
PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” for their persistence in nature, encompass more than 14,000 synthetic chemicals that are used in many common consumer and industrial products, including firefighting foams, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and furniture, and water-resistant clothing.
In the HVAC&R industry, PFAS can be found in the O-rings, seals and electronics of HVAC&R systems. In addition, many f-gas refrigerants, including HFC-134a, HFO-1234yf and HFO-1234ze(E), are considered PFAS in the EU because they have at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. Importantly, HFO-1234yf, the most common HFO refrigerant, breaks down rapidly and completely in the atmosphere to produce another PFAS, trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), which has been proliferating in the environment, including drinking water.
“We want to make sure that policymakers have accurate data so that they are fully informed about alternatives as they evaluate this critical issue.”
Marc Chasserot, CEO of ATMOsphere
PFAS such as PFOA and PFOS, which contain eight carbon atoms, have been linked to serious health problems, including kidney and testicular cancer, changes in liver function, lower birth weights, pregnancy-induced hypertension, increased cholesterol levels and decreased immune response to vaccines. Exposure to TFA, an ultrashort-chain PFAS with two carbon atoms, has not been conclusively associated with health effects, but the German government this year linked TFA to reproductive toxicity, and it has been correlated to liver effects in lab animals.
Natural refrigerants, which are already used as a substitute for ozone-layer-depleting CFCs and global-warming-increasing HFCs, can be used in place of PFAS refrigerants in virtually all applications, the coalition believes. Natural refrigerant systems have been widely adopted in many European industries, including supermarkets, cold storage and food processing, demonstrating that these systems are energy efficient and cost competitive.
ECHA’s timeline
In the EU, PFAS regulations are being considered by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which last year began evaluating proposals from the national authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to universally restrict PFAS under REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), the EU’s chemicals regulation.
In 2025, between March and June, ECHA’s committees on risk assessment (RAC) and socio-economic analysis (SEAC) are expected to discuss the restriction of f-gases as PFAS. That will be followed by provisional conclusions between June and September.
In December 2025 ECHA’s final opinion on the Universal PFAS restriction proposal will be delivered to the European Commission, which will spend the first three months of 2026 to prepare a proposal based on the ECHA opinion. A final decision is then expected by the end of 2026.
