Preparing for the PFAS Ban: Thermal Management and Next-Gen Refrigerants

Automotive IQ had the opportunity to interview Rody El Chammas, Heat Pump Module Director at Valeo, to discuss how the company is preparing for and adjusting its thermal management and design strategies in response to the upcoming PFAS ban. With Rody’s extensive role in supporting Valeo’s customers with their heat pump systems, he shared valuable insights into cost-effective solutions, Valeo’s strategic direction, and the upcoming challenges and opportunities over the next three years as PFAS regulations and the adoption of next-generation refrigerants evolve.

Q: What is Valeo position and strategy in regards to PFAS ban?

Rody: As a member of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) and as part of its product development strategy, Valeo stands for limiting the environmental impact of its products and welcomes European commission initiative on PFAS, which will help to ban these substances and limit their impact on the environment. We are committed to provide suitable alternatives for the automotive sector.

Q: What impact do you think the PFAS ban will have on the automotive industry within the first year?

Rody: PFAS ban is already impacting our industry for more than 2 years now, since we are actively engaging development activities to evaluate new refrigerants and develop both R744 and R290 heat pump systems, to be aligned with the forecasted PFAS ban regulation in Europe.

Q: How are Valeo/other automotive companies preparing and modifying their designs/thermal management in light of the PFAS ban?

Rody: At system architecture level, every refrigerant has its own requirements. R744 operating at high pressure, requires technology adaptation for HEX, compressor and a specific thermodynamic cycle architecture with IHX. As for R290, it presents safety concerns due the high flammability and therefore requires dual indirect architecture, with ultra compact HEX technology.

Q: Does this come with any limitations/boundaries? If so, what do they look like for Valeo and/or the wider automotive industry?

Rody: According to our assessment, both R744 and R290 can meet the standard refrigerant R1234yf system performance, whether for cabin or battery, cooling and heating, with advantages for R744 performance in heat pump mode.

Q: What are best practices for cost effective solutions that are reliable for higher volume production and no safety issues?

Rody: We need to design the right system to meet the customer use cases and also performance needs. In many cases, smart arbitration between requirements and cost is needed and this can lead to optimum system architecture design and component sizing.

Q: What effect will future refrigerants have on thermal management or immersive cooling?

Rody: Immersive battery cooling is obviously the safer solution to manage battery thermal runaway, extend lifetime, and enable fast charging. Immersive cooling is compatible across all refrigerants R1234yf/R744/R290, with the right architecture and components safety adaptation for each refrigerant.

Q: What does the next three years look like with PFAS regulations and next generation refrigerants?

Rody: We don't expect a single refrigerant solution adopted by all OEM and for worldwide applications. At least in the next three years, the 3 refrigerants will coexist: 1234yf will still be the considered refrigerant until PFAS ban, R744 already in serial and under consideration by other players of the industry and R290 will follow later.