The German-Austrian industrial group Obrist Group has developed an environmentally friendly technology for use in motor vehicle air conditioning systems.
The announcement is timely as the European Union is preparing to ban Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) aka forever chemicals including F-gases such as hydrofluorocarbons which are used in cooling systems around the globe.
The company claims its solution allows air conditioning systems in motor vehicles, to be operated using natural refrigerants like R744 (CO2) and R290 (propane), completely eliminating the need for PFAS or F-gases.
The patented technology has been ready for mass production for some time and is now being offered to automobile manufacturers and suppliers for licensing.
As a reference, Obrist Group points to Mercedes; the car manufacturer successfully implemented the technology in 2016 with the help of Obrist, introducing the first series production of the PFAS-free refrigerant R744 in the S-Class.
Obrist Group chief marketing officer, Thorsten Rixmann, said its PFAS- and F-gas-free technology works not only in vehicle air conditioning systems but equally well in stationary climate systems and heat pumps.
PFAS are a large group of industrial chemicals that replace hydrogen atoms with fluorine atoms, either completely (perfluorinated) or partially (polyfluorinated).
According to the Obrist Group, each car releases between 20 and 30 grams of PFAS chemicals annually, which adds up to thousands of tonnes each year.
“When the refrigerant R1234yf (tetrafluoropropene), commonly used in vehicle air conditioning systems, breaks down, it produces the "forever chemical" trifluoroacetic acid, which gradually accumulates in water bodies, and its effects on health and the environment are still not fully understood,” the Obrist Group said in a statement.
According to the German Federal Environment Agency, around 800 tonnes of R1234yf was released from car air conditioning systems in Germany alone in 2020. Annual PFAS emissions in the EU, attributed to refrigerants, are estimated at approximately 75,000 tonnes, according to a 2023 report by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).