Finding a coherent pathway towards delivering sustainable solutions that meet today and future requirements of decarbonized buildings

The ongoing Ukraine-Russia war has brought mounting concerns of the EU’s energy dependence on Russia to the forefront. These issues come at a time when the bloc is making concerted efforts to the EU Green Deal agenda, especially its 2050 net-zero targets.

The EU’s REPowerEU Plan, which essentially is the European Commission’s long-awaited answer to decrease the EU’s dependence on energy imports from Russia, as well as its accelerating decarbonization ambitions, is the only way forward for the EU to strengthen its energy sovereignty.

By speeding up the installation of renewable energy, including green hydrogen, and increasing energy efficiency, by frontloading the deployment of heat pumps in all buildings, the EU is looking at a variety of solutions, as part of its plan.

As aptly said by Alisha Bellezza, President of Thermal & Specialized Solutions at The Chemours Company, “I have been keeping a close eye on the EU’s initiatives under the Renovation Wave umbrella. I see a huge potential in the recent proposal to revise the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) for stepping up the efforts to boost building renovations in Europe.”

As pointed out by Sean Kelly MEP, “improving Europe’s building stock reduces the use of oil and gas used for heating and cooling and drives down overall emissions.”

This is a double benefit that needs to be secured.

At the same time, there is a need for the implementation of EPBD in Member States, said Kelly while underlining the huge demand for heat pumps and increased recognition of the value they can bring.

Mirroring similar thoughts, MEP Penkova opined the “need for technology neutrality and the importance of taking into account feasibility of the targets and availability of products and technologies at reasonable prices, as people in some countries are struggling with their budget, now more than ever.”

“We at Chemours support ambitious and binding renovation rates for all buildings across the EU. We are in favor of the inclusion of carbon performance into the energy efficiency assessments of buildings, support the broader application of smart devices, the creation of incentives for more efficient heat pumps, and highly efficient thermal insulation of buildings. We also need increased support for vulnerable households to alleviate energy poverty and address soaring energy prices,” said Bellezza.

This raises the question – what role does Chemours, a chemical company, play in the decarbonization of buildings?

“Our Thermal & Specialized Solutions segment has unique expertise in fluorochemistry — having invented the refrigerant category nearly a century ago. F-Gas refrigerants are crucial to modern heating and cooling technology, such as heat pumps, and are necessary to advance carbon reduction in buildings. I am proud that Chemours is a market leader in the newest generation of F-Gases, HFOs, with an ultra-low global warming impact,” was Bellezza’s response.

However, if you were to look at the steep reduction in the quota allocation foreseen in the recently proposed review of EU’s F-Gas Regulation, there appears to be an apparent lack of coherence between the F-Gas and EPBD discussions.

“While the revision of F-Gas Regulation is necessary to reduce the use of F-Gases with high-global warming impact, reducing the quota too quickly puts the EU Green Deal goals at risk by undermining our ability to use F-Gases for sustainable heating and cooling. This can increase the risks impacting safety and energy efficiency of the equipment and lead to production delocalization from EU. Furthermore, the quota phase-down is expected to drive even more of the market towards illegally imported gases with high-global warming impact – an issue that already exists with the current regulation,” opined Bellezza.

What clearly emerges from any discussion on the subject is that, the European Commission’s assessment on the performance of buildings should include the entire life cycle, including emissions and resources.

After all it is important to have a coherent body of legislation which sees F-GAS and EPBD work harmoniously together.

So as to ensure coherence between the policy objectives of REPowerEU, EPBD, and F-Gases Regulation, there needs to be a closer dialogue between EU policymakers and industry. It is vital that a right balance is found in order to not miss the chance to advance a successful and cost-efficient renovation wave without dependence on external actors.

“The technology is there and we, as a technology leader, are well-positioned to deliver sustainable solutions that will help meet our needs today and into the future,” said Bellezza. “I am confident that by working closer together we can establish the building blocks of our cleaner future.”