PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Fluorinated gases (F-gases) are a family of man-made gases used in a range of industrial applications. They are powerful greenhouse gases, with a global warming effect up to 23 000 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2). F-gasemissions have risen by 60% since 1990, in contrast to all other greenhouse gases, and must therefore be drastically reduced. The EU has taken regulatory action to control F-gases as part of its policy to fight climate change.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE 3Rs main objective is to develop an innovative circular economy ecosystem for F-gases. This will be based on the following: a self-certification platform for declaration of F-gases that can be recovered, recycled and re-used; identification of F-gases and recycling Internet of Things (IoT) equipment; and a 3R Marketplace platform to support EU companies in recovering, recycling/reclaiming and re-using F-gases. With this ecosystem, LIFE 3R will help to implement EU policy on climate change mitigation and the EUs F-gas Regulation.
The projects specific objectives are:
To develop a new market for recycled F-gases in Europe via its mobile-optimised 3R Marketplace platform. This will offer sellers (the primary air conditioning and refrigeration sector) and buyers (F-gas distribution companies) reliable trade in real time, guaranteeing legal frameworks, secured payments and transaction methods with transparent standards;To develop a self-certification scheme, supported by professional laboratory testing carried out by distribution companies;To reduce the raw materials consumed by about 80% (almost 600 tonnes/year), through the efficient recovery/recycling of F-gases by documenting their characteristics and use of the internet platform. It will allow installers to analyse the composition of refrigerant gases on site prior to recovery and upload data automatically to the self-declaration platform;To raise awareness and stakeholder involvement through a training campaign for 600 individuals in the demonstration countries; andTo boost overall competitiveness, creating three new direct jobs and 69 indirect jobs due to increased activity in recovery of F-gases.
RESULTS
Expected results:
An F-gas circular economy ecosystem (3R ecosystem) deployed for the first time at national level in Slovakia, Czechia and Hungary, allowing the recovery and recycling/reclamation of 3.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent during the project (almost 1 500 tonnes of F-gases recycled);Demonstration of the 3R ecosystem recovering F-gases considered as waste, with a reduction of 65 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent five years after the project ends. The gases will be used in HVAC-R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration) systems;3R Marketplace platform with full transparency about the parties involved, volumes and types of refrigerants, prices, and availability of refrigerants;Identification of 13 Member States for replication of the 3R ecosystem and elaboration of a detailed plan to enable at least 13 replications of the fullsolution after the project ends;Innovative self-certification and self-declaration schemes for installers (involving real-time and on-site self-declaration), fostering the use of high quality, cost-efficient recycled F-gases and an accurate database of information; A reliable legal framework and registration system which verifies the F-gas license of the ecosystem users and ensures the transparency and traceability of transactions (price included), to avoid fraud and piracy; Engagement of main stakeholders: 220 000 individuals reached through the demonstrations, ensuring wide dissemination of the projects results, including installers/service companies and other stakeholders. Training of 2 600 people (200 in each of 13 countries); andCreation of 10 full-time jobs and 562 indirect jobs by replication in 13 Member States after the project ends.
