The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the transition to alternative refrigerants. It phases down the production and consumption of HFC refrigerants. The EPA has published a proposed rule that will prohibit the manufacture of equipment containing HFCs by January 1, 2025. It will also prohibit the sale of those products by January 1, 2026.
Read more about the AIM Act in 2025 here.
Which states are affected by the AIM Act?
This rule would apply to the entire country, bringing alignment instead of state-by-state regulations. States can still issue their own, more stringent regulations. Some states, like California and New York, will still require attention.
Which refrigerants are affected?
This rule proposes to restrict the use of refrigerants by their global warming potential (GWP). Equipment using more than 200 lbs. of refrigerant will face a GWP limit of 150. Equipment using less than 200 lbs. of refrigerant will face a GWP limit of 300. Chiller systems will face a GWP limit of 700.
These GWP limits will end the use of refrigerants like R-404A (GWP of 3943), R-407A (GWP of 1923), R-410A (GWP of 1924), R-448A (GWP of 1273), R-449A (GWP of 1282), and R-507 (GWP of 3985) in new equipment. Refrigeration equipment will need to use natural refrigerants, such as CO₂ (GWP of 1) and ammonia (GWP of 0). HFO-based refrigerants will also be used since they have options below the proposed GWP limits.
When will the AIM Act ruling be finalized?
Currently, the proposed rule is available for comments until January 30, 2023. The rule will be finalized in October 2023. We do not expect the GWP limits to change. However, the implementation date might get pushed back to help manufacturers and end users complete existing projects. Industry leaders are asking for clarification about how the implementation dates are defined. They also seek clarification on how “new projects” will be defined compared to retrofit or remodel projects.
Further Reading
Zero Zone has a new paper, “The National Plan for Refrigerant Regulations,” which has more information about the upcoming EPA regulations, which states will still have regulations to follow, and solutions that Zero Zone offers.
To know where we have come from, Zero Zone has a paper, “The State of Refrigerant Regulations,” which covers state regulations that affected the United States from 2019 through 2024.
The proposed rule and a succinct fact sheet are available on the EPA website: https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/technology-transitions.
If you have questions about these regulations, please contact Zero Zone and ask to speak to our Director of Regulatory Compliance & Refrigeration Technology. If you want to learn about our offerings and plan for these regulations, contact our sales team.