"The proposals by the European Chemicals Agency regarding PFAS are heading in the wrong direction. They pose significant risks to industrial value creation and supply chains, as well as to the transformation toward climate-neutral, connected, and automated mobility—and, at the same time, to growth, prosperity, and employment.

The European Commission, which is now about to draft a concrete legislative proposal, must urgently revise the currently debated proposal for restricting PFAS. What is needed are balanced regulations that strengthen environmental and health protection while simultaneously being practicable for businesses and authorities. The industrial transformation must be supported and Europe’s international competitiveness safeguarded—the upcoming legislative proposal must not stand in the way of this.

One thing is certain: the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is indispensable for modern vehicle concepts as well as for the ramp-up of electromobility. For many applications, no technically equivalent alternatives are currently available. A comprehensive restriction—without adequate transition periods, differentiated exemptions, or an institutionalized review process—would entail significant risks: for industrial value creation, supply chains, and the transformation toward climate-neutral, connected, and automated mobility. Sending such signals in the current economic climate would be disastrous.

The VDA therefore advocates a differentiated regulatory approach. This includes exempting fluoropolymers from the restriction, establishing realistic and adequate transition periods, granting exemptions for applications where no substitutes are available, and implementing a review process to regularly monitor technological developments. In this way, environmental and health protection can be effectively strengthened, while simultaneously enabling innovation, industrial transformation, and competitiveness in Europe."

Further Information: According to the definition provided by the European Chemicals Agency, the chemical group of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comprises at least 10,000 chemical substances. They are characterized by a range of specific and useful properties—particularly a high resistance to heat, cold, grease, dirt, friction, oil, and water—as well as by their exceptional durability.