ACR Journal

June | July 2021 REFRIGERANTS 20 A-Gas managing director John Ormerod highlights how the new refrigerant quota system operates in Great Britain and where the challenges lie. New refrigerant quota system changes the way we work Volume 7 No.4 Our departure from the European Union on January 1 has changed how the cooling industry operates in Great Britain. England, Scotland and Wales are now outside the EU and equipped with the power to set their own agenda to meet the low carbon challenge. But within this framework, we are still following the latest F-Gas Regulation protocol which began in 2015 and continues until 2030. Our mission to reduce the use of high global warming HFC refrigerants is still very much at the forefront of our thinking. UK refrigerant quota Since the beginning of the year, a quota system has been in place to govern the import and export of HFC refrigerants between Great Britain and the rest of the world, including the EU. This system controls the amount of virgin refrigerant passing between us and the outside world and ensures that we keep to the rules laid down by the F-Gas Regulation. Virgin HFC refrigerants feature in the quotas, but reclaimed gases are una‰ected. This means the more we can reclaim, the more we can sell outside the quota system and, in turn, make available to the market. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural A‰airs (DEFRA) now governs what we do in Great Britain regarding the F-Gas Regulation. Before we left the EU, DEFRA investigated refrigerant supply into the UK and allocated quotas to companies based on their historical trading. Eleven per cent of the allocation was set aside for new entrants to allow for flexibility in the system. This has led to a more fragmented market and it can be complex to understand. HFOs are not part of the quota system, but HFO blends are if they have an HFC component in them – N40 (R448A) is an example. A-Gas managing director, John Ormerod