Daimler Abandons Refrigerant Boycott

Daimler AG has agreed to switch to a new air-conditioner refrigerant after claiming for more than two years that the mandated material was a fire hazard.

The EU required carmakers to begin phasing in so-called R-1234yf refrigerant in January 2013 for vehicles sold in Europe. But Daimler refused, pointing to a test it conducted in which the material caught fire and produced toxic gas.

The company declared it would develop an alternate system that uses carbon dioxide but cautioned the project would take several years. In the meantime, Daimler has continued to use R-134a in the air-conditioning systems of its vehicles.

The EU rule requires carmakers to phase in refrigerants that have a global warming potential rating of less than 150. The only material currently available is R-1234, which was developed by Honeywell and DuPont. The new refrigerant has a GWP of 4 compared with 1,430 for R-134a.

The EU will require carmakers in Europe to adopt the new material in all models by 2017. Last year the European Commission began legal proceedings against Germany for failing to enforce the EU rule. The EC pointed to multiple tests by others that found R-1234 safe.

One analysis by SAE International described the test procedure Daimler used “unrealistic.” The standards group concluded the risk of R-1234 catching fire in a crash was about six orders of magnitude less than the risk of fires from all causes.