NEWS
News from Afecor or relevant for Afecor members
International standardisation for safe and environmental friendly gas appliances (16 May 2024)
From May 12 to 16 the international standardisation committee ISO/TC 161 held its annual plenary meeting in Barcelona, Spain.
This committee elaborates international safety standards for gas controls used in heating appliances, cooking devices and gas distribution, such as ISO 23550 and ISO 23551 series.
In order to reduce CO2 emissions, future gas controls have to be enabled for hydrogen and low carbon gases like e.g. rDME (renewable Dimethylether).
Participants from Europe, USA, China, Canada and Japan shared their knowledge and activities on hydrogen and other combustible alternative gases. As a strong liaison partner, Afecor also discussed the current European developments in renewable gases and the legal framework with the delegates. In addition, Afecor sponsored the social event in the Sagrada Familia. The participants expressed their appreciation for this event and the opportunity to get in close exchange with the European Controls Manufacturers' Association.
Afecor participating at the 48th plenary meeting of CEN/TC 58 (24 Apr. 2024)
On April 4 2024 the 48th CEN/TC 58 “Safety and control devices for burners and appliances burning gaseous or liquid fuels” meeting took place at DIN in Berlin. Afecor participated as a liaison organization to support the CEN/TC 58 activities.
Main topics of the meeting were the implementation of sustainability, cyber security and green aspects in CEN/TC 58 standards. Accordingly, the generic safety standard EN 13611 is currently under technical revision. The product specific standards will follow in due course.
Harmonization of the product standards with the Gas Appliance Regulation continues to be a high priority. Recently EN 88-1, EN 1854, EN 257, EN 1106 and EN 16898 were published in the EU Official Journal (-> Link to list of Harmonized Standards), which means the manufacturers have now the legal confirmation for the presumption of conformity.
Also with the help of Afecor a clarification of Pressure equipment Directive (PED) overlap issues could be achieved. An Afecor statement about PED aspects will follow soon on our website.
Afecor General Assembly: New Council of Administration elected (04 Apr. 2024)
Afecor's spring General Assembly meeting was held in Vilvoorde, Belgium. Established more than 60 years ago, Afecor is one of the oldest European associations in Brussels and represents the interests of European control manufacturers in Europe. Two meeting days were devoted to the main topics of European regulations and international standardization. The General Assembly elected the Executive Board members. Klaus W. Jesse has been elected President and Sabine Pintaske has been elected Vice President. Ettore Rossi is the new Technical Director. Stephan Mock is confirmed as Treasurer. Klaus Jesse thanked his predecessor for his dedicated work over the past few years, which had also introduced new members to Afecor. Huba Control AG, CH, was welcomed as a new member. Afecor is in a good position to actively represent the interests of its members in the coming years. Cooperation with the regulatory organizations CEN, CENELEC and ISO, the Commission and the industry associations in Europe will continue to be the focus of activities.
Free Webinar: Hydrogen risk analysis & status of materials and gaskets (Apr. 12 2024)
Two of the most important questions when switching from natural gas to hydrogen are, on the one hand, the assessment of the risk potential of hydrogen compared to the established fuel gases and, on the other hand, the suitability of materials for operation with hydrogen. There are studies on both questions that have produced positive results.
CEN/TC 58 (WG15) investigated the leakage behaviour of hydrogen in comparison to natural gas and liquefied gases in order to derive an assessment of the hazard potential in various scenarios. CEN/TC 235 (WG1) started work on a CEN/TR "Hydrogen Readiness of Gas Infrastructures - Requirements and Lab Test Procedure for Material Qualification of equipment" in order to qualify materials for use in gas infrastructure for which no sources are available. Laboratory test procedures are also to be developed.
The webinar is intended to clarify the state of knowledge based on the findings on aspects of the use of hydrogen and thus dispel concerns about switching the gas supply to hydrogen.
It is aimed at manufacturers of products and service providers in the use and infrastructure of hydrogen in figawa e.V. and its European partner associations Afecor, Farecogaz and ELVHIS.
The webinar is intended to clarify the state of knowledge based on the findings on aspects of the use of hydrogen and thus dispel concerns about switching the gas supply to hydrogen.
It is aimed at manufacturers of products and service providers in the use and infrastructure of hydrogen in figawa e.V. and its European partner associations Afecor, Farecogaz and ELVHIS.
Publication of the Commission Decision on the harmonised standards for Gas Appliances Regulation (GAR) (Jan. 2024)
On 12 January 2024, the European Commission published the first set of harmonised standards under the Gas Appliances Regulation EU/2016/426 (GAR) in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU): link
Afecor position on proposed restrictions for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances PFAS (Sept. 2023)
In March 2023 the EU’s Chemical Agency (ECHA) proposed to restrict PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances). However, a restriction could have critical consequences for several EU’s sector/industries, including our Afecor members. Essential parts of our safety relevant controls are made of fluoropolymers, for example O-rings.
Following the approach to restrict all PFAS groups including fluoropolymers while not considering their specific applications and addressing alternatives this potential restriction will have major socioeconomic, industrial, and environmental impacts.
Afecor has submitted a position paper in response to the public consultation. The position paper can be found here: link
Guidance Sheets under the Gas Appliances Regulation (March 2023)
A number of Guidance Sheets have been updated or added to comply with the requirements of the Gas Appliances Regulation. The Guidance Sheets have been endorsed by the European Commission Working Group Gas Appliances in March 2023.
The current set of Guidance Sheets can be downlowded here (Link) or via the links page of this web site.
Roadmap on Hydrogen Standardization - Final Version Handed to CEN/CENELEC (March 2023)
With technology and legislation advancing in the field of using hydrogen as a renewable energy carrier, it is required that standardization is being developed concurrently. A working group of the EU Clean Hydrogen Alliance has put together a comprehensive roadmap for all relevant standardization activities and the required actions. Upon completion of the roadmap the document will be used by CEN/CENELEC to organize projects, to oversee the standardization process and to prioritize.
The Roadmap on Hydrogen Standardization (Link) was handed over to Elena Santiago Cid (Director General CEN/CENELEC) on 1 March by Maive Rute (Deputy Director General, DG GROW, European Commission) and Sabine Pintaske on behalf of industry (Afecor).
The Roadmap on Hydrogen Standardization (Link) was handed over to Elena Santiago Cid (Director General CEN/CENELEC) on 1 March by Maive Rute (Deputy Director General, DG GROW, European Commission) and Sabine Pintaske on behalf of industry (Afecor).
European Clean Hydrogen Alliance - Third Forum
(November 2021)
(November 2021)
The third European Hydrogen Forum was held on November 30th 2021 with about 700 participants. The "project pipeline" was presented, including more than 750 projects covering green hydrogen production, transport networks and use of hydrogen. The projected electrolyzer capacity exceeds the 40 GW set out in the European Hydrogen Strategy.
Afecor's new President: Ettore Rossi (October 2021)
Ettore Rossi, Regulatory Affairs Manager at the company SIT SpA, has been elected as the new President of Afecor. He is succeeding Martin Bergemann, who held that position for the last 18 years. Ettore has a lot of experience in standardization as well as in activities concerning European legislation.
