Ways to achieve a climate-neutral heating and cooling supply

In March 2026, the Centre for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth hosted the symposium ‘Natural Refrigerants in Heating and Air Conditioning’ as part of the ‘Wärme-Klima-freundlich’ project. Funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection, the project focuses on analysing the potential of natural refrigerants in heating and cooling systems and aims to fill existing research gaps. The existing expertise is to be communicated to decision-makers and various stakeholders. This is being done in cooperation with the State Office for the Environment, which is supporting the transfer of knowledge through a further project on natural refrigerants and co-organised the event.

Around 80 experts from the trades, specialist planning, industry, public administration, academia and politics came together to examine the current challenges and key issues surrounding the use of natural refrigerants. The relevance of this topic stems from the phased reduction (phase-down) and ban on climate-damaging fluorinated greenhouse gases in the EU under the F-Gas Regulation (EU 2024/573). This regulatory measure is intended to accelerate the use of alternative working fluids in air conditioning systems and heat pumps in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The event featured contributions from, amongst others, the Federal Environment Agency, the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection, trade associations, research institutions and companies. The programme focused on three key topics:

• The implications of the new F-Gas Regulation

• Efficient applications of natural refrigerants in heating and air-conditioning systems 

• Best practice examples from the trades, commerce and industry

In particular, there was in-depth discussion of safety-related aspects, training requirements, regulatory frameworks and the practical applications of natural refrigerants. The programme was rounded off with a closing discussion and a tour of the ZET’s Keylabs. The conference was very well received by the participants and provided valuable impetus for further project work. 

In addition, key topics for the upcoming 2027 symposium were identified. These included a desire for more in-depth information on operators’ obligations, the safe handling of flammable refrigerants, insights into standardisation and efficiency comparisons, as well as further practice-oriented training and application formats. The symposium made a significant contribution to networking among relevant stakeholders and enhanced the visibility of the project and the university within the national specialist community.