The three major industry associations VDA, VDMA and ZVEI warn that without per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) the key technologies of the transformation to climate neutrality cannot be produced and thus the energy and mobility transition cannot be implemented. No wind turbine, no energy storage, no e-car, no semiconductors. Together they oppose the blanket ban on PFAS currently planned by the EU and advocate a differentiated approach to the group of over 10,000 substances.
They demand that substances should continue to be available for industry for which there is currently no substitute and those that pose no risk to people or the environment. There must be no disproportionate bans. In contrast, PFAS, which pose risks to humans and the environment, should be continuously substituted, as is already common practice today.
PFAS in different industries
Many PFAS are currently indispensable for the sectors represented by the associations - automotive industry (VDA), electrical and digital industry (ZVEI) as well as mechanical and plant engineering (VDMA) - from the substance group. The substances are extensively installed in cross-sectional technologies, for example as seals and cables, and used in all relevant key technologies that will play a decisive role in the success of the Green Deal. Lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen technologies also urgently need PFAS.
“Electromobility is the central technology on the way to climate-neutral mobility of the future and a central part of the European Green Deal of the EU. One thing is clear: In order to be able to achieve the goal of climate-neutral mobility, the use of PFAS is and will remain indispensable. Without them, neither the existing vehicles nor future vehicle technologies are conceivable today - the planned blanket PFAS ban threatens to become a climate protection boomerang. With a differentiated consideration of this huge group of substances, however, climate, environmental and health protection can be brought together. One thing is certain: the companies in the German automotive industry take the responsible use of PFAS seriously and will of course continue to do so in the future,” says VDA President Hildegard Müller
“Climate protection and the energy revolution are not possible without the technologies from mechanical and plant engineering. A sweeping PFAS ban puts many green technologies at risk, from wind turbines to hydrogen production to fuel cell production. PFAS components are indispensable for these products and also for their industrial manufacturing processes. At the same time, the PFAS are installed deep inside machines and have no direct contact with the environment,” explains Karl Haeusgen, VDMA President.
“Semiconductors are essential for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The EU is therefore rightly promoting the development of a powerful semiconductor ecosystem with the EU Chips Act and the IPCEI Microelectronics. A blanket PFAS ban would conflict with this goal. In order to resolve this conflict of goals, PFAS must be considered in a differentiated and risk-based manner, not with a mallet," adds ZVEI President Dr. Gunther Kegel added.
