The role F-gases play in electric vehicles

Transport is one of the biggest contributors to EU greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce emissions on our roads and help countries meet their 2030 climate targets, car manufacturers are on a mission to roll out more electric vehicles (EVs).

In 2021, new electric car registrations accounted for almost 18% of total new car registrations (1,729,000, up from 1,061,000 in 2020), while the uptake of new electric vans also increased from 2.1% to 3.1%. Technical performance and safety are key in the manufacture of these new EVs, which is where F-gases have a vital part to play.
Modern F-gases called HFOs are the refrigerants of choice for almost all vehicle manufacturers in the EU and are used in air conditioning systems to cool, warm and defrost vehicles. They are favoured by manufacturers because they have low global warming potentials (GWP). They are also safe to use and highly efficient.
HFOs not only keep the interior of the vehicle cool, they play a crucial role in cooling EV batteries during the charging phase and, because EVs have no residual heat from combustion engine waste, they are also used in heat pump systems to provide heat. This enables EVs to maximise their driving range, while the battery and AC-HP components are weight minimised.

The use of HFOs allows EVs to have high-performing and energy efficient thermal management systems. Without HFOs, it will be difficult to produce future EVs and power the environmental transformation of the EU’s automotive industry.