EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities – HORIZON-CL5-2025-06-D1-03: 'Modelling of mitigation pathways for F-gases'

1. Single Market Access (450+ million citizens)

- Harmonised market rules enable rapid EU-wide roll-out of low-GWP refrigeration, air-conditioning & heat-pump (RACHP) technologies developed within the project.

- Common Ecodesign & F-Gas Regulation 2024/573 standards shorten ‘time-to-market’ for new equipment and software tools, giving beneficiaries access to a €300 bn annual HVACR market.

- Pan-EU datasets (Eurostat, EEA, EU Energy Data Space) provide consistent inputs for modelling and business cases at continental scale.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

- Proposal consortia can combine climatology modellers (e.g. DWD, Met Office), equipment manufacturers (SE, Daikin Europe), grid operators (ENTSO-E members) and policy bodies (EFTA, EEA) from multiple Member States.

- Leverages COST Actions, Copernicus Climate Services and Digital Europe Programme’s High-Performance Computing (HPC) to co-develop open-source F-gas modules.

- Facilitates twinning with Article 5 Parties via EU Delegations & EuropeAid for capacity building, boosting EU global influence under the Montreal Protocol.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

- Directly serves the European Green Deal and ‘Fit-for-55’ package by targeting ~2.5 % of EU GHG currently linked to F-gases.

- Supports REPowerEU electrification & heat-pump deployment while minimising F-gas lock-in, advancing Energy Efficiency First principle.

- Contributes to the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (PFAS phase-out) and Digital Europe goals through FAIR, open digital twins.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Policy Leadership

- Common EU F-gas quota system and upcoming PFAS restriction give a predictable framework for pilot demonstrations across borders.

- Results feed directly into EU position papers for Montreal Protocol Meetings of Parties, reinforcing Europe’s diplomatic leadership.

- Alignment with CEN/CENELEC standards simplifies certification of natural-refrigerant equipment developed in the project.

5. Integrated Innovation Ecosystem

- Access to >3,000 Horizon Europe participants, 900+ KIC InnoEnergy members, European Heat Pump Association, and Climate-KIC Living Labs.

- Utilise open EU cloud-HPC infrastructures (EuroHPC, Leonardo, LUMI) for high-resolution scenario modelling.

- Engage with EIT Manufacturing testbeds to prototype F-gas-free components and speed up TRL advance.

6. Funding Synergies & Blending Opportunities

- Combine Horizon lump-sum funding with LIFE Clean Energy Transition (pilot roll-outs), Innovation Fund (first-of-a-kind industrial scale-ups) and InvestEU (de-risking loans for manufacturing lines).

- Smart Specialisation (S3) platforms allow regions such as Emilia-Romagna or Västra Götaland to co-invest ERDF in demonstration sites.

- MSCA Doctoral Networks can host PhD cohorts on F-gas modelling, strengthening talent pipelines.

7. Scale, Replicability & Impact

- Unified modelling toolbox enables national ‘plug-ins’ for all 27 Member States plus candidate countries, creating the first EU-wide decision support for Kigali-compatible pathways.

- Results can be embedded in National Energy & Climate Plans (NECPs) 2026 update, multiplying policy impact.

- Open licences (EUPL / Apache 2.0) stimulate SMEs to commercialise add-on analytics, fostering a competitive EU climate-tech sector.

8. Strategic Recommendations to Maximise EU Value-Added

1. Build an EU Open F-Gas Digital Twin on the Destination Earth platform to integrate climatology, energy and trade flows.

2. Formalise a ‘European F-Gas Modelling Alliance’ linking JRC, EEA and national agencies for long-term tool maintenance.

3. Pilot cross-border natural-refrigerant heat-pump corridors (e.g., Alpine or Nordic region) to validate models with real-world data.

4. Align with CEN TC 182 & IEC SC 61D to feed modelling insights into new safety standards for flammable refrigerants.

5. Create a Horizon Europe/LIFE knowledge hub ensuring outputs remain FAIR and up-dated post-2028.

Bottom line: Operating at EU scale amplifies technological uptake, regulatory coherence and global diplomacy, positioning project partners at the forefront of the transition away from high-GWP F-gases while unlocking sizeable economic and environmental benefits for the entire Union.