Short answer
The question "can I still top this system up?" has three answers, depending on the type of equipment and on the gas.
- Refrigeration. Article 13(3): the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more for the maintenance or servicing of refrigeration equipment with a charge size of 40 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more is prohibited; from 1 January 2025, for any refrigeration equipment.
- Air conditioning and heat pumps. Paragraph 4: from 1 January 2026, gases listed in Annex I with a GWP of 2 500 or more are prohibited.
- The next step. Paragraph 5: from 1 January 2032, Annex I gases with a GWP of 750 or more are prohibited for stationary refrigeration equipment, with the exclusion of chillers.
Two categories of gas escape, on strict conditions: reclaimed and recycled gas. In paragraphs 3 and 4 the carve-out has an end date — 1 January 2030 and 1 January 2032. In paragraph 5 the text sets no end date at all.
No prices, no availability, no stock and no delivery times. No national penalties and no dangerous-goods figures either. Nothing about substances that are not listed in Annexes I, II or III to the Regulation: R-22, for instance, is not listed there and Article 13 does not apply to it — see the guide on older R-22 systems.
What maintenance or servicing means in the text
Article 13 is headed "Control of use", and Article 3, point (36) defines use of fluorinated greenhouse gases as their utilisation in the production, maintenance or servicing, including refilling, of products and equipment, or in other activities and processes referred to in the Regulation.
Article 3, point (18) defines maintenance or servicing as all activities, excluding recovery and leak checks, that entail: opening the circuits or other subparts containing or designed to contain fluorinated greenhouse gases; supplying the system with fluorinated greenhouse gases; removing one or more pieces of circuit or equipment; reassembling two or more pieces of circuit or equipment; as well as repairing leaks, or adding fluorinated greenhouse gas.
Three consequences on site follow.
- A leak check is not servicing within that definition. It stays mandatory whatever the gas, under Article 5, and the intervals are in the guide on leak-check frequency.
- Recovery is not servicing. It stays mandatory at decommissioning under Article 8(1), however high the GWP. The Article 13 ban does not stop you taking gas out of a system; it stops you putting it back in.
- Repair is in. Article 3, point (16) defines repair as the restoration of damaged or leaking products or equipment containing such gases, involving a part containing or designed to contain them. If the repair ends with a charge of gas, Article 13 applies.
The duty in Article 4(5) to ensure that the equipment is repaired without undue delay is unaffected. A prohibition on using a particular gas does not suspend the duty to stop the leak.
Refrigeration: the 2 500 threshold and the 2025 date
The first subparagraph of Article 13(3) actually contains two successive rules. The first: the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more for the maintenance or servicing of refrigeration equipment with a charge size of 40 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more is prohibited. The second: from 1 January 2025, the prohibition applies to any refrigeration equipment, with no charge threshold.
Note the wording: here the text says "fluorinated greenhouse gases", without a reference to Annex I. Paragraphs 4 and 5, by contrast, say "fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I". That is a real difference in scope.
The exceptions in the second subparagraph: military equipment and equipment intended for applications designed to cool products to temperatures below minus 50 degrees Celsius.
The window in the third subparagraph, open until 1 January 2030, covers two categories:
- reclaimed Annex I gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more, used for the maintenance or servicing of existing refrigeration equipment, provided the containers are labelled in accordance with Article 12(7);
- recycled Annex I gases with a GWP of 2 500 or more, used on existing equipment, provided they were recovered from such equipment; they may be used only by the undertaking that carried out the recovery as part of maintenance or servicing, or by the undertaking for which the recovery was carried out.
The fourth subparagraph takes out refrigeration equipment for which an exemption has been authorised in accordance with Article 11(5).
For a fleet on R-404A (GWP 3 922 calculated under Annex VI) or R-507A (3 985), virgin gas can no longer go into the system. The alternatives and the changeover route are in the guide on replacing R-404A.
Air conditioning and heat pumps: 1 January 2026
Article 13(4), first subparagraph: from 1 January 2026, the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I with a GWP of 2 500 or more for the maintenance or servicing of air-conditioning equipment and heat pumps is prohibited.
The second subparagraph suspends the prohibition until 1 January 2032 for the same two categories as in paragraph 3: reclaimed Annex I gas with a GWP of 2 500 or more used on existing equipment, with containers labelled in accordance with Article 12(7); and recycled Annex I gas with a GWP of 2 500 or more, recovered from such equipment, usable only by the undertaking that carried out the recovery or the one for which it was carried out.
Unlike paragraph 3, this paragraph provides no exception for military equipment or for applications below minus 50 degrees Celsius. The structure of the two paragraphs is not symmetrical; do not assume that an exception in one applies in the other.
In practice, for an ordinary air-conditioning fleet the 2 500 threshold catches neither R-410A (2 088) nor R-407C (1 774) nor R-134a (1 430). It does catch installations where R-404A or R-507A type gases were used, including some process heat pumps.
Gas choice for new equipment is handled separately, in the guides on R-32 or R-410A and on the bans for heat pumps and split air conditioning.
The 2032 step: the 750 threshold
Article 13(5), first subparagraph: from 1 January 2032, the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I with a GWP of 750 or more for the maintenance or servicing of stationary refrigeration equipment, with the exclusion of chillers, is prohibited.
Three exceptions in the second subparagraph: military equipment, equipment intended for applications designed to cool products below minus 50 degrees Celsius, and equipment intended for applications designed to cool nuclear power stations.
The third subparagraph repeats the carve-out for reclaimed and recycled gas with a GWP of 750 or more, used on existing stationary refrigeration equipment other than chillers, on the same labelling and provenance conditions. That carve-out has no end date in the text. It is a structural difference from paragraphs 3 and 4, where the windows close in 2030 and 2032.
Paragraph 6 adds a valve: following a substantiated request by a competent authority, the Commission assesses the availability of reclaimed and recycled gases falling within the scope of paragraphs 4 and 5, and where the assessment points to a verified shortage, it may exceptionally authorise, by implementing acts, an exemption from the prohibitions in paragraph 4 or 5 for up to 4 years, to the extent needed to address the shortage.
The planning consequence: from 2032, a stationary refrigeration fleet on R-410A, R-407C, R-134a, R-448A, R-449A or R-452A can no longer be topped up with virgin gas of those types. Chillers sit outside this paragraph — see the guide on chillers.
Reclaimed and recycled gas: the exact conditions
The two categories are not synonyms, and their conditions differ.
Reclamation, Article 3, point (13): the reprocessing of a recovered fluorinated greenhouse gas to the equivalent performance of a virgin substance, taking into account its intended use, in authorised reclamation facilities that have the appropriate equipment and procedures in place and that can assess and attest to the level of the required quality.
Recycling, Article 3, point (12): the reuse of a recovered fluorinated greenhouse gas following a basic cleaning process, including filtering and drying.
| Condition | Reclaimed gas | Recycled gas |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment | Existing equipment of the category concerned only | Existing equipment of the category concerned only |
| Label | Containers labelled in accordance with Article 12(7) | The text does not attach that condition in this paragraph |
| Provenance | An authorised reclamation facility, Article 3, point (13) | Recovered from such equipment |
| Who may use it | Not restricted by this paragraph | Only the undertaking that carried out the recovery, or the one for which it was carried out |
Article 12(7) requires containers holding reclaimed or recycled gases listed in Annexes I and II to be labelled with an indication that the substance has been reclaimed or recycled; in the case of reclamation, the label also carries the batch number and the name and address of the reclamation facility in the Union.
Two connected rules complete the picture. Article 8(6): recovered Annex I and Section 1 Annex II gases shall not be used for filling or refilling equipment unless the gas has been recycled or reclaimed. And Article 7(1), point (d): the equipment record states whether the gas added was recycled or reclaimed, with the name and address of the facility and, where applicable, the certificate number.
The full distinction, with its traceability effects, is in the guide on reclaimed, recycled and virgin refrigerant.
Gas by gas: where each threshold lands
The values below are calculated with the Annex VI method, from the binding GWP column of Annex I and of Section 1 of Annex II. They are not commercial figures but the weighted average the Regulation requires.
| Refrigerant | GWP under Annex VI | The 2 500 threshold | The 750 threshold from 2032 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-507A | 3 985 | Crossed | Crossed |
| R-404A | 3 922 | Crossed | Crossed |
| R-452A | 2 139 | Below | Crossed |
| R-410A | 2 088 | Below | Crossed |
| R-407C | 1 774 | Below | Crossed |
| R-134a | 1 430 | Below | Crossed |
| R-449A | 1 396 | Below | Crossed |
| R-448A | 1 386 | Below | Crossed |
| R-32 | 675 | Below | Below |
| R-513A | 629,5 | Below | Below |
| R-454B | 465 | Below | Below |
| R-454C | 145,5 | Below | Below |
Read the table with care. The column "the 750 threshold from 2032" concerns only stationary refrigeration equipment other than chillers, under Article 13(5). For air conditioning and heat pumps there is, in the current text, no 750 threshold at all; there is only the 2 500 one in paragraph 4.
The individual profiles of these gases are on the R-404A, R-507A, R-410A, R-407C, R-134a, R-448A and R-449A, R-452A, R-513A and R-454B pages.
Checklist before you charge
- Establish the category of the equipmentRefrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump; stationary or mobile; chiller or not. Each sits in a different paragraph of Article 13.
- Read the GWP from the binding columnAnnex I for pure substances, Annex VI for mixtures; do not use the 20-year column, which is for information only.
- Compare it with the threshold in the applicable paragraph2 500 in paragraphs 3 and 4, 750 in paragraph 5 from 1 January 2032.
- Check whether the gas is virgin, reclaimed or recycledArticle 3, points (12), (13) and (19); the status is read from the container label under Article 12(7).
- If you use recycled gas, check who is entitled toOnly the undertaking that carried out the recovery as part of the work, or the undertaking for which the recovery was carried out.
- Check whether the window is still open1 January 2030 for paragraph 3, 1 January 2032 for paragraph 4; paragraph 5 sets no end date.
- Confirm that the equipment is existing, not newThe reclaimed and recycled carve-outs refer expressly to existing equipment.
- Check the certificate before purchaseArticle 11(6) restricts purchase to certified persons or undertakings employing them; Article 7(3) requires the seller to keep records.
- Complete the equipment recordArticle 7(1), points (b) and (d): the quantity added, the date, the type and status of the gas, with the facility it came from.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still top up an R-404A installation?
Not with virgin gas. R-404A has a GWP of 3 922 calculated under Annex VI, above the 2 500 threshold in Article 13(3), and from 1 January 2025 the prohibition applies to any refrigeration equipment. Until 1 January 2030 the window stays open for reclaimed gas labelled in accordance with Article 12(7) and for recycled gas recovered from such equipment, on the conditions in the third subparagraph.
Does the ban mean I have to shut the system down?
No. Article 13 controls the use of the gas, not the operation of the equipment. An existing installation may keep running; what can no longer be done is topping it up with a gas above the threshold. The duties to check for leaks, to repair without undue delay and to recover are unchanged.
Why does paragraph 3 not say Annex I, while paragraphs 4 and 5 do?
Because their scopes differ in the text. Paragraph 3 speaks of "fluorinated greenhouse gases" with no reference to an Annex, while paragraphs 4 and 5 refer to gases "listed in Annex I". Do not assume the wording is the same; read the paragraph that applies to you.
Can I use recycled gas from another customer's system?
In paragraphs 3 and 4 the text limits the use of recycled gas to the undertaking that carried out the recovery as part of maintenance or servicing, or to the undertaking for which the recovery was carried out. The provenance condition is that the gas was recovered from equipment of the same category. Reclaimed gas has no such user restriction but requires the label provided for in Article 12(7).
What happens if reclaimed gas cannot be found?
Article 13(6) provides a procedure: following a substantiated request by a competent authority of a Member State, the Commission assesses the availability of reclaimed and recycled gases falling within the scope of paragraphs 4 and 5, and where a verified shortage is found it may exceptionally authorise, by implementing acts, an exemption for up to 4 years, to the extent needed to address the shortage. It is not an exception a service company can invoke on its own.
Is R-22 caught by Article 13?
R-22 is not listed in Annexes I, II or III to Regulation (EU) 2024/573, so Article 13 does not apply to it. Ozone-depleting substances are governed by separate Union acts. The practical position of the remaining installations is described in the guide on older R-22 systems.
Does Article 13 contain other prohibitions?
Yes. Paragraph 1 prohibits the use of SF6 in magnesium die-casting and in the recycling of magnesium die-casting alloys, paragraph 2 its use to fill vehicle tyres, paragraph 7 prohibits from 1 January 2035 the use of SF6 for the maintenance or servicing of electrical switchgear unless it is reclaimed or recycled, with two technical exceptions, and paragraph 8 prohibits from 1 January 2026 the use of desflurane as an inhalation anaesthetic, except where strictly required on medical grounds.
Official sources
Article 13 was read in full in the Official Journal text, together with Articles 3, 7, 8, 11 and 12, Annex I Section 1 and Annex VI. The blend GWP values are calculated with the Annex VI method.
How current this page is, and its limits
The thresholds, dates and exceptions on this page are reproduced from Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 as published in the Official Journal. The blend GWP values are calculated with the Annex VI method on the usual composition of each blend; check the figure on the technical data sheet and on the label of the container you actually use.
General information prepared by EgoLog on the basis of the Regulation and official Commission material. It is not legal advice and it does not replace the assessment of a competent authority.
Buying fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and in Section 1 of Annex II for installation, maintenance, servicing or repair is reserved, under Article 11(6), to certified persons and to undertakings employing them. The work may only be carried out by personnel certified under Article 10.