(1)

Directive 2011/65/EU requires Member States to ensure that electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market does not contain the hazardous substances listed in Annex II to that Directive. That restriction does not apply to certain exempted applications listed in Annex III to that Directive.

(2)

The categories of electrical and electronic equipment to which Directive 2011/65/EU applies are listed in Annex I to that Directive.

(3)

Hexavalent chromium is a restricted substance listed in Annex II to Directive 2011/65/EU.

(4)

On 23 December 2020, the Commission received an application made in accordance with Article 5(3) of Directive 2011/65/EU for an exemption to be listed in Annex III to that Directive, for the use of hexavalent chromium as an anticorrosion agent in the working fluid of the carbon steel sealed circuit of gas absorption heat pumps (‘the requested exemption’).

(5)

Gas absorption heat pumps require electricity for auxiliary functions like pumping a working fluid through the system. The gas absorption heat pumps described in the requested exemption fall under category 1 ‘large household appliances’ of Annex I to Directive 2011/65/EU.

(6)

The evaluation of the exemption application, which included a technical and scientific assessment study (2), concluded that substitution of hexavalent chromium in the refrigerant solution is currently scientifically and technically impracticable, and other heating technologies eliminating the use of hexavalent chromium in the form of sodium chromate cannot offer equivalent functionality and performance. Gas absorption heat pumps can indeed provide higher energy efficiency than condensing boiler technologies, can help to replace those systems and can lead to carbon dioxide emission savings. That evaluation thus concluded that at least one of the relevant conditions specified in Article 5(1), point (a), of Directive 2011/65/EU is met, namely that the total negative environmental, health and consumer safety impacts of substituting hexavalent chromium in the uses covered by the exemption application are likely to outweigh the total environmental, health and consumer safety benefits thereof. The evaluation included stakeholder consultations as required by Article 5(7) of Directive 2011/65/EU. The comments received during those consultations were made publicly available on a dedicated website.

(7)

A maximum concentration of 0,7 % hexavalent chromium by weight in the refrigerant solution is considered as sufficient for the requested exemption.

(8)

The placing on the market for a use and the use of substances listed in Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) are subject to an authorisation requirement under that Regulation. That Annex lists a number of hexavalent chromium compounds, including sodium chromate. Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 and Directive 2011/65/EU apply without prejudice to each other. The use of a hexavalent chromium compound listed in Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 and its placing on the market for a use is subject to authorisation under that Regulation. The granting of an exemption under Directive 2011/65/EU does not affect that authorisation requirement under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, nor would the granting of an authorisation under Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 affect the need to obtain an exemption under Directive 2011/65/EU. No reasons have been found according to which granting the requested exemption under Directive 2011/65/EU would weaken the environmental and health protection afforded by Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006.

(9)

It is, therefore, appropriate to grant the requested exemption by including the applications covered by it in Annex III to Directive 2011/65/EU with respect to electrical and electronic equipment of category 1.

(10)

Research efforts to find possibilities for reducing the hexavalent chromium content and/or to substitute or eliminate the use of hexavalent chromium will foreseeably require more than 5 years. Thus, it is appropriate to grant the requested exemption until 31 December 2026, in accordance with Article 5(2), first subparagraph, of Directive 2011/65/EU.

(11)

Directive 2011/65/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,