Quick answer
R-507A is an azeotropic blend of R-125 and R-143a, two hydrofluorocarbons listed in Annex I. Calculated under Annex VI from the nominal 50 % and 50 % composition, its GWP is 3 985.
That is far above the 2 500 threshold in Article 13(3). The consequence is direct: virgin gas may no longer be used to maintain or service any refrigeration equipment. What stays open until 1 January 2030 is reclaimed gas, labelled under Article 12(7), and recycled gas on much tighter conditions.
On the equipment side, Annex IV closed placing on the market back in 2020 for the main categories. So a system running on R-507A today is a system serviced on a window that is closing, not one that is opening.
| Situation | Value |
|---|---|
| GWP | 3 985 — calculated under Annex VI |
| Servicing today | Banned with virgin gas — Article 13(3) |
| From 1 January 2032 | Banned — the reclaimed-gas window already closed in 2030 |
| Leak-check threshold | 5 t CO2e ≈ 1.25 kg (Annex I) |
It carries no thermodynamic properties, no capacity data, no oil compatibilities, no retrofit procedure and no transport thresholds. None of those are in the F-gas Regulation. Take them from the product's safety data sheet and from the equipment manufacturer's documentation.
The GWP, and where it comes from
R-507A is a blend, so it is not listed with a value of its own in Annex I. Its GWP is calculated under Annex VI as the weighted average of the mass fractions, using the binding values from Annex I.
| Component | Share by weight | GWP | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| HFC-125 | 50.0 % | 3 500 | 1 750 |
| HFC-143a | 50.0 % | 4 470 | 2 235 |
| Total | 3 985 | ||
Both components are pure HFCs from Annex I. There is no HFO component here to pull the average down, as in the newer blends. That is why the result is the one large figure in this family of pages.
Manufacturers describe R-507A as an azeotropic mixture of R-125 and R-143a, and the product designation corresponds to that nominal composition. The supplier's product data sheet states a GWP of 3 985, which is exactly the weighted average of a 50 / 50 mixture computed with the Annex I values. For the exact mass fractions of your product, read section 3 of the safety data sheet your supplier gave you.
Annex VI allows a weight tolerance of ± 1 %. At this value the tolerance makes no practical difference: any reasonable variation leaves the result far above 2 500.
The second is headed “20 years-GWP — for information purposes only”. It is not the value the thresholds are measured against. For R-507A the binding column is already more than enough to cross every threshold.
Servicing: what you may charge, and until when
Article 13(3) has two sentences. The first prohibits the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more for maintaining or servicing refrigeration equipment with a charge size of 40 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more. The second extends the prohibition, from 1 January 2025, to any refrigeration equipment, whatever its charge.
At 3 985, R-507A is caught by both. The 40 t CO2e threshold, incidentally, is reached at just over 10 kg of refrigerant.
The third subparagraph of Article 13(3) takes two categories out of the prohibition until that date:
- Reclaimed Annex I gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more, used to maintain or service existing refrigeration equipment, provided the containers are labelled under Article 12(7): an indication that the substance has been reclaimed, the batch number, and the name and Union address of the reclamation facility.
- Recycled Annex I gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more, used on existing equipment, provided they were recovered from such equipment. Those gases may only be used by the undertaking which carried out the recovery as part of maintenance or servicing, or by the undertaking for which the recovery was carried out.
The second subparagraph of the same paragraph takes out military equipment and equipment intended for applications designed to cool products below −50 °C. The fourth subparagraph takes out equipment for which an exemption has been authorised under Article 11(5).
For air conditioning and heat pumps, Article 13(4) brings the same 2 500 limit from 1 January 2026, with a reclaimed and recycled window running to 1 January 2032.
The 750 line in Article 13(5), which takes effect on 1 January 2032 for stationary refrigeration other than chillers, changes nothing further for R-507A: by then the gas has been prohibited for servicing for seven years, and the reclaimed window has been shut for two.
Equipment: what may no longer be placed on the market
On the equipment side, Annex IV took it out early. The rows that matter:
| Annex IV point | Equipment | Limit | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3(a) | Commercial self-contained refrigerators and freezers, HFCs | GWP 2 500 or more | 1.1.2020 |
| 5(a) | Other refrigeration equipment (not chillers, not points 4 and 6), HFCs | GWP 2 500 or more | 1.1.2020 |
| 7(a) | Chillers, HFCs | GWP 2 500 or more | 1.1.2020 |
| 6 | Multipack centralised commercial systems of 40 kW or more, Annex I gases | GWP 150 or more | 1.1.2022 |
| 4 | Any self-contained refrigeration equipment except chillers | GWP 150 or more | 1.1.2025 |
Point 5(a) carries its own exception: it does not cover equipment intended for applications designed to cool products to temperatures below −50 °C. Point 5(b) extended the same 2 500 limit from 2025 to any fluorinated greenhouse gas, not only HFCs.
The cascade exception in point 6 allows fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP below 1 500 in the primary circuit. At 3 985, R-507A does not fall inside it.
The practical conclusion: new equipment factory-charged with R-507A can no longer be placed on the Union market in the ordinary commercial refrigeration categories. What remains in the field are systems put into operation before those dates.
Leak checks and the detection system
Article 5(1) sets from what quantity equipment is checked, and Article 5(6) how often. The duty falls on operators and on manufacturers of the equipment.
For Annex I gases the threshold is 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. At 3 985 that means 5 000 ÷ 3 985 ≈ 1.25 kg. It is the lowest threshold in this family of pages: in practice any commercial system on R-507A is inside the checking regime.
| Charge | Check at least | With a detection system |
|---|---|---|
| 5 – 50 t CO2e | 12 months | 24 months |
| 50 – 500 t CO2e | 6 months | 12 months |
| ≥ 500 t CO2e | 3 months | 6 months |
Worked example. 10 kg of R-507A is 10 × 3 985 ÷ 1 000 ≈ 39.9 t CO2e — the bottom band, so checks at least every 12 months. The middle band starts at about 12.5 kg, and the 500 t CO2e threshold, above which Article 6(1) makes a leakage detection system mandatory, at about 125 kg.
That 125 kg figure is worth remembering: a medium-sized commercial refrigeration system on R-507A is already in the range where a detector is mandatory, and the detector itself is checked at least once every 12 months under Article 6(3).
Article 5(3) also brings mobile equipment inside the checking regime: refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and trailers, and those of refrigerated light-duty vehicles, intermodal containers and train wagons. For operators of the equipment in points (b) and (c), Article 5(5) defers application until 12 March 2027.
For the intervals, see the guide to leak-check frequency.
What to do with an existing R-507A system
The regulation does not require you to switch the plant off. It restricts what you may put into it. The order of decisions runs like this.
- Check tightness before anything else. At 3 985, every kilogram lost is almost 4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Repair without undue delay is required anyway under Article 4(5).
- If you need a top-up, use reclaimed gas labelled under Article 12(7), until 1 January 2030, on existing equipment. The label must carry the reclamation indication, the batch number and the name and Union address of the reclamation facility.
- Recycled gas is a narrower option. It has to have been recovered from such equipment, and it may only be used by the undertaking that carried out the recovery or the one it recovered for. You cannot buy it freely from third parties under that route.
- Recovered gas cannot go back in as it is. Article 8(6) requires recovered gas to be recycled or reclaimed before it is used for refilling.
- Plan the change of refrigerant or of plant before 2030. After that date, for ordinary commercial refrigeration there is no lawful way left to top up with R-507A.
Replacement decisions for R-404A and R-507A type systems — which refrigerant, retrofit or new equipment, which threshold catches you in which year — are dealt with separately, with the full comparison, in the guide to replacing R-404A. See also drop-in or retrofit for the difference between the two operations.
Supplier documentation classifies R-507A as A1, that is, non-flammable in the industry classification scheme. The class does not come from the regulation. It matters when choosing the replacement, though: many of the low-GWP candidates are A2L, and there the site safety requirements and the training programmes in Article 10(5), point (e), come into play.
The work stays reserved to certified personnel. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215 sets out the certificate types, and its Article 2 also covers work on equipment using alternatives such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons.
Label and record
The label. Article 12(1)(g) puts all fluorinated greenhouse gas containers under the labelling requirement, and Article 12(3) requires an indication that fluorinated greenhouse gases are contained, the accepted industry designation, the quantity in weight and in CO2 equivalent, and the GWP. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2174 adds, in Article 1(3), the mandatory text “contains fluorinated greenhouse gases”.
The special label for reclaimed gas. Article 12(7) requires containers of reclaimed or recycled gas to be labelled with an indication that the substance has been reclaimed or recycled and, in the case of reclamation, with the batch number and the name and Union address of the reclamation facility. Without that label you cannot rely on the Article 13(3) window: the condition is part of the exception.
The record. For each piece of equipment subject to checks, Article 7(1) requires the quantity and type of gas, quantities added with dates, the quantity recovered, the origin of any gas added and whether it was recycled or reclaimed, the name and Union address of the recycling or reclamation facility and, where applicable, its certificate number, plus the identity of whoever did the work and the dates and results of the checks. Five years.
With R-507A, point (d) of Article 7(1) stops being a formality: it is the evidence that you used reclaimed gas and not virgin gas.
Who may buy it. Article 11(6) allows purchase only by certified persons or undertakings employing them, and the seller records the certificate number and the quantity under Article 7(3).
What the regulation does NOT tell you
Physical properties, safety class and azeotropic behaviour are not in the regulation. Take them from the product's safety data sheet — section 2 for classification, section 3 for the exact composition, section 9 for physical and chemical properties, section 14 for transport — in the format required by Regulation (EU) 2020/878, and from the manufacturer's documentation.
Hazard classification and labelling come from Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, a separate regime from the F-gas label.
The regulation also does not say what R-507A should be replaced with in a particular installation. Capacity, pressures, oil and seal compatibility and the equipment manufacturer's approval are engineering and warranty questions.
And it says nothing about transporting the cylinders: classification, documents and placarding come from dangerous goods law, and the validated information for your product sits in section 14 of the safety data sheet.
Checklist
- R-507A systems inventoried with their chargesIn kg and in tonnes of CO2 equivalent; ≈ 1.25 kg is already the 5 t CO2e threshold.
- Check interval assigned to eachArticle 5(6): 12.5 kg moves into the 6-month band, 125 kg into the 3-month band.
- Detector question answered above ≈ 125 kgArticle 6(1), with the annual detector check in Article 6(3).
- The source of top-up gas is documented as reclaimedThe Article 12(7) label and the Article 7(1)(d) record entry.
- Recovered gas is not put back without recycling or reclamationArticle 8(6).
- Leaks repaired without undue delayArticle 4(5); at 3 985 every kilogram counts.
- The replacement plan has a date before 1 January 2030That is when the reclaimed-gas window in Article 13(3) closes.
- Equipment record currentArticle 7(1), kept five years.
- Work done by certified personnelArticle 10 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215.
Frequently asked questions
What is the GWP of R-507A?
3 985, calculated under Annex VI from the nominal composition 50 % R-125 and 50 % R-143a, with the binding Annex I values 3 500 and 4 470. The supplier's product data sheet states the same figure.
Can I still service with R-507A?
Not with virgin gas. Article 13(3) prohibits gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more for maintaining or servicing refrigeration equipment, and from 1 January 2025 the prohibition covers any refrigeration equipment. Until 1 January 2030, reclaimed gas with the Article 12(7) label remains possible on existing equipment.
Is R-507A banned as a substance?
No. The regulation does not ban substances as such. It restricts use for servicing above GWP thresholds in Article 13, and the placing on the market of certain equipment in Annex IV. Those are different things with different dates.
What is recycled gas and how does it differ from reclaimed?
Inside the Article 13(3) window, reclaimed gas can be bought, provided the container carries the Article 12(7) label. Recycled gas is narrower: it has to have been recovered from such equipment, and it may only be used by the undertaking that carried out the recovery or the one it recovered for.
At what charge do leak checks start?
At 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is roughly 1.25 kg of R-507A. It is the lowest threshold among the refrigerants covered on this site, precisely because of the high GWP.
What replaces it?
That depends on the application, the evaporating temperature and which threshold catches you. The full comparison of options for R-404A and R-507A type systems is in the dedicated guide.
Official sources
Annexes I, IV and VI and Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 13 were read directly in the Official Journal text through the EU Publications Office. The components, the azeotropic behaviour and the safety class come from suppliers' product documentation, cited separately.
Currency of this page and limits of responsibility
This is a regulatory status page, not a technical data sheet. It carries no thermodynamic properties, no capacity data, no oil compatibilities and no retrofit procedure. The exact composition of your product is read in section 3 of the safety data sheet your supplier gave you.
General information prepared by EgoLog from the regulation and official Commission material. It is not legal advice and it is not an engineering assessment.
Recovery, servicing and decommissioning are carried out by personnel certified under Article 10 of the regulation and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215. Annex IV can be amended, and the Commission may authorise time-limited exemptions under Article 13(6). Confirm the current text before you rely on a date commercially.