Chemical producer, Honeywell, is welcoming the European Commission’s (EC) decision to launch first infringement procedure steps against Germany, slamming one automaker’s decision to fight to have its preferred r134a refrigerant on several models.

Honeywell has long-championed its r1234yf coolant as safe and better for the environment, while Mercedes-Benz has consistently argued the variant could present a fire hazard in certain conditions.

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In a statement sent to just-auto, Honeywell does not name Mercedes but clearly conveys its irritation with a determination by one manufacturer, which, in its words, does not adhere to EC regulations.

“A single automaker’s decision to not comply with the EU Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) Directive has taken up a disproportionate amount of the EU’s time and has finally led to infringement proceedings against Germany,” said Honeywell.

“We welcome that action, as the EU must be grounded on the consistent enforcement of the rule of law for all countries and companies. Speedy enforcement of the MAC Directive, which has been in effect since 1 January 2013, will continue to drive adoption of new cooling technology that is far better for the environment than the current refrigerant, HFC-134a.

“Many automakers have selected HFO-1234yf as their new refrigerant because it is safe, cost-effective and will reduce the greenhouse impact by 99.9%, with a global warming potential of less than 1 – lower than carbon dioxide.”

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The Commission has written a formal notice to Germany, which although the first process of an infringement, does not constitute an infringement.

Germany now has two months to return to the Commission with its response.

Honeywell claims third-party data shows HFO-1234yf’s widespread adoption globally would have the greenhouse gas equivalent effect of permanently removing more than 30m cars from the road worldwide, or about 3% of the total global fleet.

Mercedes-Benz was not immediately available for comment.