Towards a better understanding of our energy system and how it is changing https://www.energy-alternatives.eu/en/ <p><span class="summary" style="display:block; text-align: justify"> Summary – PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals”, entered the debate on heat pumps and air conditioning when a column by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz in Le Monde <a href="#note-1">[1]</a> pointed out that most PFAS emissions in Europe come from the fluorinated gases we use as refrigerants. Europe is preparing a near-universal restriction on PFAS, expected around 2028, on top of the F-gas Regulation on fluorinated greenhouse gases. At the same time we need to deploy heat pumps on a large scale to move away from gas and oil, and air conditioning to adapt to heat waves. I explain here what PFAS are and why they are a problem, what goes into a heat pump and why no refrigerant is perfect, and then what the European Chemicals Agency’s dossier actually says: not all uses are equivalent, and the aggregate figure in circulation hides a very uneven reality. My conclusion is that the right trade-off depends on the use. We should move fast where the alternatives are mature, that is for small equipment and for mobile air conditioning, where the shift to electric vehicles will incidentally reduce leakage, and allow some time where substitution threatens the pace of decarbonisation, that is for large-capacity equipment. In every case, the first lever is not the refrigerant of new machines, but leakage from the installed base and recovery of the refrigerant at end of life. </span></p> Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0200 https://www.energy-alternatives.eu/en/2026/09/04/PFAS-heat-pumps.html https://www.energy-alternatives.eu/en/2026/09/04/PFAS-heat-pumps.html