Europe “flooded” with illegal R404A/R507

EUROPE: Companies and organisations across Europe are warning of a “widespread” illegal trade in banned high GWP refrigerants like R404A and R507.

Since January 1, 2020, the use of virgin refrigerant with a GWP of 2500 or more – like R404A and R507 – has been prohibited under the European F-gas regulations. Only reclaimed material can continue to be used for servicing equipment.

The restrictions are said to have generated many abuses of the regulation with reports of “virgin” or contaminated R404A and R507 being passed off as reclaimed gas and cases of the high GWP refrigerants being marketed and sold as their lower GWP legal alternatives R449A or R448A.

In Poland, the PROZON Foundation, an NGO supported by leading Polish refrigerant distributors, has warned that these high GWP refrigerants are appearing on the market as reclaimed material that have not been subjected to appropriate processing and do not meet quality standards. 

AEFYT, the Spanish Association of Refrigeration Companies and Technologies, reports “a worrying increase” in refrigerants such as R404A or R507 being marketed under the false names of R449A or R448A at very low prices.  

“Many of these refrigerants of unknown origin do not meet the necessary quality specifications, which can cause serious problems in facilities, such as cooling system failures, reduced energy efficiency, and compressor damage,” the AEFYT warns.

R449A is Chemours’ alternative blend with a GWP of 1397 for use in new and existing R404A/R507 systems. R448A is Honeywell’s version of a similar blend with a GWP of 1387.

In a recent post on LinkedIn, Alex Borri, COO of leading Italian refrigerant supplier General Gas claims the market is being “flooded” by illegal R404A and R507 “masquerading” as R448A, R449A and R452A. 

Conducting gas chromatography tests, his company found “yet another case” of an illegal cylinder, labelled as R449A but whose content turned out to be R507A, adulterated by about 6% of R410A.

Clearly frustrated, he writes: “And no one checks, no one verifies, no one is punished.” Borri goes further to maintain that if the laws are not enforced, the F-gas regulation risks turning into a “tragic farce”.

In addition to the environmental harm, the AEFYT warns that non-compliance with the F-gas regulations risks heavy fines, legal liability for damage to equipment and installation failures, seizure of the “counterfeit” refrigerant and a fee for its destruction.

It recommends only purchasing refrigerants from trusted suppliers and to be suspicious of excessively low prices.

It advises checking documentation to ensure that the purchased products are certified by the authorised distributor and manufacturer and are properly labelled, complying with current regulations.

Related stories:

Virgin R404A refrigerant being sold as reclaimed – 4 April 2025
POLAND: A Polish refrigerant reclamation business has warned of high GWP gases like R404A being passed off as reclaimed material in breach of the European F-gas regulations. Read more…