Financial support for natural refrigerants

The federal government promotes sustainable technologies to meet the climate protection goals. Within this framework there is also a subsidy for refrigeration and air conditioning technology. With the revision of this refrigeration and air conditioning directive of August 27, 2020, in which the promotion of refrigeration and air conditioning systems with non-halogenated refrigerants in stationary and vehicle applications is anchored, cold air refrigeration technology for low-temperature applications was also supplemented. Funding for cold air technology.

Requirement and process

Funding can only be applied for if the order has not yet been placed. The project can only begin once the notification of grant has been received. As a result, all existing systems that have already been commissioned are no longer required. The directive only applies to new systems with sustainable refrigeration technology.

1.) The procedure is as follows:

2.) Apply and submit documents

3.) Obtaining the grant notice

4.) Implementation of the project, provision of proof of use (Caution: There are special requirements for the system here! See necessary documents for proof of use)

5.) Payout

The steps for cold air technology are explained below for obtaining the notification of grant and for providing proof of use.

3D-Modell of cold air technology
3D-Modell of cold air technology

Obtaining the grant notice

First, the application for funding must be submitted to BAFA. It is advantageous if the following documents are available for upload so that the application is complete and subsequent uploading is not necessary:​

- Organizational chart of the applicant's group of companies (in the case of affiliated companies)

- Signed de minimis aid declaration

- Grant notices or funding commitments from other donors (if available)

- Cooling capacity calculation

- Functional diagram / flow chart

- If the required documents are available, the application can be started on the website.

At the beginning, general data about the applicant and the project are requested. A WZ 2008 code is required for the economic classification. For our customers and partners from the pharmaceutical industry, we have determined the required WZ 2008 code in advance. The WZ 2008 code "2110" applies to companies that produce pharmaceutical raw materials. "2120" applies to manufacturers of pharmaceutical specialties and other pharmaceutical products. For other companies, the code can be determined from the Federal Statistical Office using the following document: PDF (alternatively: Excel file).

For stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems, the appropriate option should be selected under "Stationary refrigeration and air conditioning systems / vehicle air conditioning systems". Then further sub-items open up. For the type of system, "commercial refrigeration systems LT (direct evaporation)" must be selected for the cold air technology. In the table that now appears, it is necessary to specify the refrigeration and electrical output. Since air is unfortunately not yet available as a refrigerant in the drop-down menu (as of February 2021), any of the existing refrigerants should be selected. This circumstance is corrected by hand after the application has been submitted in the form "Confirmation of the truthful information" in which it is clarified that the refrigerant used is not the specified refrigerant but air (R729).

After submitting the application, all necessary documents and the "Confirmation of truthful information" form with original signature can be uploaded via the upload portal. The applications will only be processed by BAFA if the documents are complete.

This completes the application. It should be noted that no rejections will be sent, but only notifications of grants will be issued in the event of funding. This contains the amount of funding, deadlines and certain funding conditions. After receipt of the grant notification, the order can be placed and the project can be started.

Provision of proof of use

The proof of use will be provided after completion of the project within the deadline (deadlines, see bafa.de under "Deadlines"). This must be submitted via the proof of use portal, which will be available on the BAFA website from April 2021. Data on the technical parameters of the installed refrigeration/air conditioning system and the components are requested. These must be confirmed by the respective specialist company (= refrigeration system builder). A declaration is automatically generated by the where-used portal. The specialist contractor must confirm compliance with the efficiency measures or the installation of the energy efficiency components as well as the (calculation of) the cooling capacity and the refrigerant. The declaration should also include a signature and stamp. Then it can be uploaded via the upload portal.

Other necessary documents for proof of use must also be uploaded:

- Supply and service contract

- completed maintenance contract

- Invoices for the refrigeration plant components and systems

- Piping and instrument flow diagram of the plant

Proof of the installation of an electrical energy meter stating the date of commissioning (only for compression refrigeration/air conditioning systems from 5 kW electrical compressor capacity, from 15 kW electrical compressor capacity also remotely readable)

The payment will only be made after the proof of use has been checked without further notification, provided that all the necessary documents are available.

Once the funding has been received, certain operating data for the system must be sent to BAFA annually for monitoring purposes over the course of the five years that follow. If this is only partially or not at all fulfilled, BAFA can demand the funding back.

BAFA's main page for the promotion of refrigeration/air conditioning systems is available for further information, on which all the points mentioned here can also be read again.

If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to your inquiry!

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