EU Commission Adds Exemption for Hexavalent Chromium in Gas Absorption Heat Pumps

The Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2023/171, which was published on January 26, 2023 in the Official Journal of the European Union, amends Annex III of Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards an exemption for hexavalent chromium as an anticorrosion agent in gas absorption heat pumps. The exemption applies to the use of hexavalent chromium as an anticorrosion agent in the working fluid of the carbon steel sealed circuit of gas absorption heat pumps.

The exemption was granted as a result of a technical and scientific evaluation, which concluded that the substitution of hexavalent chromium in the refrigerant solution was currently scientifically and technically impracticable and would lead to negative environmental, health, and consumer safety impacts. The amendment came into effect on February 15, 2023.