Introduction
The article explores the transition of the European Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) and heat pump (HP) sectors towards low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants under the revised EU F-gas Regulation, with brief reference to the wider per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) debate and its implications for future refrigerant policy. As the sector increasingly adopts alternatives such as R290 and other natural refrigerants, the need for specialised safety skills and workforce preparedness becomes more critical.
The focus of the article is the SKILLSAFE-EU project, which provides practical solutions to support the safe deployment of HPs using highly flammable refrigerants. Through the development of European training programmes, safety guidelines, and certification approaches, the project helps technicians and installers acquire the competencies needed for the green transition. Training activities have already started across participating countries, supporting the upskilling of the HVACR workforce and promoting harmonised safety practices throughout Europe.
The article concludes that achieving Europe’s climate and energy objectives will depend not only on technological and regulatory progress but also on ensuring that workers have access to the right training and safety knowledge to enable a resilient and competitive sector.
Europe’s heat pump transition
Europe's heating sector is undergoing a profound transformation. As the European Union seeks to decarbonise industry, strengthen energy security and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, HPs have become one of the central technologies supporting the clean energy transition. Their deployment is expected to play a crucial role in achieving Europe's climate objectives while enhancing energy resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the buildings and industrial heating sectors, which together account for a significant share of Europe's energy consumption.
This transformation is being driven not only by market demand and technological innovation, but also by an evolving regulatory framework. Among the most significant recent developments is the revised F-gas Regulation, which accelerates the phase-down of fluorinated greenhouse gases and promotes the uptake of refrigerants with lower GWP. For HP manufacturers, this has triggered a new phase of investment, product re-design and refrigerant innovation aimed at balancing environmental performance, safety requirements and affordability.
The effects of this transition are already visible across the European HP market. Data from the HP Keymark database show a significant evolution in refrigerant use within certified HP products over recent years. In 2017, approximately 86% of certified models used R410A, a fluorinated refrigerant widely deployed in HPs and air-conditioning systems but characterised by a relatively high GWP. As regulatory requirements tightened and manufacturers sought lower-emission alternatives, the market gradually shifted towards refrigerants such as R32, which offer a substantially lower GWP, and more recently towards natural, non-fluorinated refrigerants. By 2024, the non-fluorinated refrigerant R290 (propane) valued for its very low GWP and strong performance at higher operating temperatures, accounted for 38% of certified HP models, illustrating the speed at which the sector is adapting to changing regulatory and market conditions.
Source: HP Keymark database, adapted from Heat Pumps Watch (Marek Miara, From Niche to Norm: 20 Years of Progress in Heat Pump Technology).
The refrigerant transition is therefore no longer a future scenario but a market reality. More importantly, it demonstrates how rapidly the sector is moving towards lower-GWP refrigerants with different technical and safety characteristics. Among these, R290 has emerged as one of the leading solutions in residential HPs and is expected to play an increasingly important role in the years ahead.
Unlike many refrigerants traditionally used in HPs, propane is classified as a highly flammable (A3) refrigerant. While its ability to achieve good efficiency makes it an attractive solution for many applications, its deployment requires specific safety measures throughout installation, commissioning, servicing and maintenance. As the number of systems using R290 continues to grow, ensuring that technicians possess the necessary competencies, practical experience and safety awareness is becoming a critical prerequisite for market uptake.
The deployment of highly flammable refrigerants also raises important questions regarding certification and workforce preparedness. While certification systems already exist across Europe, their implementation, scope and training requirements differ considerably between Member States. As the market evolves, ensuring a more harmonised approach to competence development, certification and safety practices becomes increasingly important for both consumer confidence and the smooth functioning of the internal market.
In many HP applications, particularly outdoor residential air-to-water monoblock systems, commercially mature solutions using non-fluorinated refrigerants are widely available. However, readiness varies considerably across product categories and national markets. While some segments are progressing rapidly, others continue to face technical, economic and safety-related constraints requiring additional time, investment and skills development. As experience from leading markets demonstrates, the key barriers are increasingly linked not to the absence of technological feasibility, but to the pace at which supporting conditions can be established, including installer competence, certification frameworks, safety standards and supply-chain readiness.
The broader policy environment adds a further layer of complexity. Alongside the implementation of the revised F-gas Regulation, discussions continue regarding the proposed restriction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which could affect large parts of the refrigerant landscape. While the outcome of the legislative process remains uncertain, the debate highlights the importance of regulatory predictability for manufacturers and investors navigating long product development and investment cycles.
At the same time, the discussion reinforces a broader lesson from the refrigerant transition: successful deployment depends not only on the availability of alternative technologies, but also on the readiness of the market to support them. Technological maturity, safety frameworks, certification systems and workforce preparedness all play a critical role in determining how quickly new solutions can be adopted at scale.
The SKILLSAFE-EU Project
As the deployment of systems using highly flammable refrigerants accelerates across Europe, ensuring that technicians possess the necessary skills, certification and safety awareness is becoming a strategic priority for the sector. Addressing this challenge is the central objective of the SKILLSAFE-EU project.
The project, funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Commission, started in July 2024 to support the deployment of HPs in Europe. It is fundamentally oriented towards accelerating the deployment of HPs across Europe by addressing one of the most critical non-technical barriers in the energy transition: the shortage of a sufficiently trained, certified, and safety-aware workforce capable of installing, maintaining, and operating next-generation heating and cooling systems that increasingly rely on low-GWP, specifically highly flammable refrigerants such as R290.
It needs to be recognised that the policy ambition driven by frameworks referred to earlier, such as the EU Green Deal, the REPowerEU plan and the revised F-Gas Regulation has rapidly outpaced the availability of skilled technicians. With that in mind, SKILLSAFE-EU takes a systemic approach that integrates guidance, education and training, industry needs, regulatory compliance and safety culture into a unified European strategy.
At its core, the project develops harmonised recommendations through a unified industry guideline and training programme tailored to the safe handling of products with highly flammable refrigerants, ensuring alignment with international standards while also reflecting differences in national training systems and certification schemes. By producing modular, scalable training content—including digital learning materials, hands-on curricula, and train-the-trainer programmes—the project enables rapid upskilling and reskilling of installers, including plumbers and electricians, service technicians, transporters and disposal operators, which is essential to scaling up HP deployment rates without compromising safety or system quality.
In parallel, SKILLSAFE-EU engages directly with industry stakeholders—manufacturers, installers, certification bodies, and policymakers—to ensure that training content is not only technically accurate but also market-relevant and future-proof, incorporating emerging technologies such as monoblock propane HPs. Another key dimension of the project lies in its emphasis on safety standardisation and awareness, particularly given the increasing prevalence of highly flammable refrigerants, which require strict adherence to charge limits, ventilation requirements, and risk mitigation measures; here, SKILLSAFE EU contributes by translating safety standards into actionable, practical guidance for technicians, thereby reducing the gap between regulatory requirements and on-site implementation.
The project also promotes mutual recognition of skills across EU Member States, which is critical for addressing regional shortages in qualified personnel; by working towards a common competence framework and certification approach, it helps create a more flexible and responsive workforce capable of supporting large-scale HP rollouts in both mature and emerging markets.
Additionally, SKILLSAFE EU hopes to integrate digital tools, such as the use of e-learning modules or smart chatbots for the use of the guideline through a close collaboration with the Real Alternatives programme, which has already established a robust framework for the training of installers in handling alternative refrigerants.
Beyond workforce development, the project indirectly supports market uptake by building consumer and stakeholder confidence in HP technologies; properly trained installers are more likely to deliver high-quality installations, leading to better system performance, reduced failure rates, and improved user satisfaction, all of which are essential for sustained adoption. This is particularly important in the context of Europe’s decarbonisation targets, where HPs are expected to play a central role in replacing fossil-fuel-based heating systems in residential, commercial, and industrial applications.
Furthermore, SKILLSAFE-EU contributes to policy feedback loops by identifying gaps and inconsistencies in existing training requirements, certification schemes, and safety regulations, and by providing evidence-based recommendations to EU institutions and national authorities; this ensures that future regulatory developments are informed by practical insights from the field. Through pilot implementations and demonstration activities across different European regions, SKILLSAFE-EU tests and validates its training frameworks in real-world conditions, gathering data on effectiveness, scalability, and user acceptance, which further strengthens its impact and replicability. Importantly, the project does not operate in isolation but builds on and complements other EU initiatives and industry efforts, creating synergies that amplify its contribution to the overall energy transition.
Conclusion
By systematically addressing the human capital dimension of HP deployment—arguably one of the most underestimated bottlenecks—SKILLSAFE-EU enables the translation of policy targets into tangible installations on the ground, ensuring that the rapid growth in HP demand can be met with a workforce that is not only technically competent but also deeply aware of safety, environmental, and regulatory considerations. In doing so, the project helps de-risk the adoption of advanced refrigerant technologies, supports compliance with evolving F-gas requirements, and ultimately contributes to the creation of a robust, resilient, and future-ready HVAC ecosystem across Europe.
