Development of HFC prices Q1/2023 (GEN - 1483.00)

GEN – 1483.00. On behalf of the European Commission, Öko-Recherche is working on a series of analysis evaluating the implementation of the F-Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 since 2015. The Q1/2023 report has been recently shared with Eurovent.

Öko-Recherche, on behalf of the European Commission (DG CLIMA), works on the monitoring of HFC prices. This is an ongoing activity which started in 2016.

Background of the Q1/2023 report

The price data on refrigerants are obtained from 63 companies from 10 EU Member States (main respondents from Germany, France, and Italy) and all supply chain levels (3 gas producers, 11 gas distributors, 29 OEMs, 14 respondents from the service sector, 4 end-users and 1 equipment renting company) reported purchase and/or selling prices for HFCs and lower GWP alternatives either in absolute terms (EUR/kg) or as price index (with 2014 as baseline year). Please note that companies do not report prices for all refrigerants but only for the ones relevant to them.

Findings of the Q1/2023 report

The major findings of the Q1/2023 report are summarised below:

For the high GWP gases/mixtures R410A, R404A, and R134a considerable increases have been observed throughout the supply chain (average prices up by 75%, 67%, and 48%, respectively, when compared with price levels reported for Q1/2022). This is especially the case for R404A
Price developments on the EU market for R134a and R410A are contrasting the developments on the world market, where price levels have stood constant for R134a and gone down for R410A
On the distributor level, prices of alternatives such as HFC/HFO blend solutions increased from previous quarter (R448A, and R449A up by 17% and 11%, respectively)
In general, the EU refrigerant market appears to be quite stable in terms of supply. Limited regional availability was indicated for none of the refrigerants
Prices of quota authorisations are reported to have changed a little, with some tentative indications for increasing average prices (range of 14.8 to 16 EUR/t CO2e, with an average of ca. 15.5 EUR/t CO2e)
Compared to 2014, prices of R134a are 2.3-6.1, R404A prices are 2.6-13.5 and R410A prices are 2.1-6.9 times higher depending on the supply chain level

Recommended actions

Manufacturers using refrigerants may find it useful to check the report as it provides additional information. Some may even find it useful to participate in the price monitoring activities.