ChemKlimaschutzV explained: Germany's F-gas certification and logbook
ChemKlimaschutzV is Germany's national F-gas regulation: company and personal certification plus the equipment logbook. What it means for installers working in Germany, the new certificates under EU 2024/2215, and how Modbus monitoring supports record-keeping. Updated July 2026.
ChemKlimaschutzV (short for Chemikalien-Klimaschutzverordnung) is Germany's national regulation that implements the EU F-gas Regulation at federal level. For a refrigeration company it governs two things: company certification (Betriebszertifizierung) of the business and personal competence (Sachkunde) of the individual technician. Any company that installs, services, repairs or decommissions stationary refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases needs both. On top of that comes the record-keeping duty, the equipment logbook, which follows from the EU Regulation 2024/573. Updated: July 2026.
This guide explains what the ChemKlimaschutzV is, how company and personal certification fit together, which new certificate categories apply under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215, and what goes into the equipment logbook. It closes with the practical side: how continuous Modbus monitoring supports your record-keeping without replacing the statutory leak check.
What is the ChemKlimaschutzV?
The ChemKlimaschutzV is a German federal regulation, originally from 2008 and amended in 2017. It transposes the European F-gas Regulation into national law and adds German enforcement rules. In practice it governs the certification of companies and the competence of personnel handling fluorinated greenhouse gases in Germany. Penalties for breaches run through the Chemikalien-Sanktionsverordnung (ChemSanktionsV).
Above the national regulation sits European law. Since 11 March 2024 the Regulation (EU) 2024/573 applies, replacing the old Regulation (EU) No 517/2014. It sets the thresholds, the leak checks and the record-keeping duties that Germany then enforces through the ChemKlimaschutzV. The certification detail lives in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215.
Company certification and Sachkunde: business and person
The key point in practice is the split between business and person. The ChemKlimaschutzV requires two separate proofs. The company needs a Betriebszertifizierung, each technician a personal Sachkundebescheinigung. They do not replace each other, they belong together.
Company certification applies to businesses that install, service, repair or decommission stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment with F-gases. The condition is that the company employs enough certified personnel plus suitable tools and documented procedures. Certification carries a fee and runs through the responsible body, depending on the federal state the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) or the Chamber of Crafts (HWK).
- Enough certified personnel, tools and procedures
- Fee-based, via IHK or HWK by federal state
- Required to be allowed to carry out F-gas work
- Competence of the individual technician
- Needed for installation, servicing and leak checks
- A certified company deploys competent technicians
The parallel with the Dutch system is direct. There, the BRL 100 certification separates the company certificate from the BRL 200 personal certificate. Germany does the same through company certification and Sachkunde. The difference is in the delivery and the bodies, not in the split. If you work across the border, keep both records side by side: your certificates in one country do not automatically apply in the other.
The new certificates under EU 2024/2215
The categories I to IV for personnel, familiar to many companies, are being replaced by a new certificate scheme. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215 introduces new certificates labelled A1, A2, B, C, D and E. The German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) gives a mapping from old to new for the transition.
| Old category | New certificate | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Category I | A1, B, C | All activities, no charge-size limit |
| Category II | A2, B, C | Like A1, but with a charge-size limit |
| Category III | D | Recovery on small equipment |
| Category IV | E | Leak checking without breaking into the circuit |
Source: Umweltbundesamt, mapping of the Sachkunde categories to the new certificates under EU 2024/2215.
Certificate A1 covers all activities: installation, servicing, repair, recovery, leak checking and decommissioning on equipment with F-gases and hydrocarbons. The other certificates narrow the scope, for example to leak checking only (E) or recovery on small equipment (D).
The record-keeping duty: the equipment logbook
The second pillar next to certification is record-keeping. Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 requires the operator to keep an equipment logbook per unit. In it you record the refrigerant type and quantity, the quantities added and recovered, the leak checks carried out and their result, any leaks found, and the company and competent person who did the work.
The duty applies from the equipment subject to leak checks under Article 5, that is, from 5 tonnes CO2 equivalent (from 10 tonnes CO2 equivalent for hermetically sealed and labelled equipment). Records must be kept for at least five years and made available to the competent authority on request.
The leak check itself depends on the equipment's CO2 equivalent. Article 5 ties the frequency to three thresholds: from 5 tonnes annually, from 50 tonnes every six months, and from 500 tonnes a fixed leak detection system is mandatory. Where such a system is present, the intervals may be doubled.
The doubling only applies with a permanently installed leak detection system whose readings are recorded. A handheld sniffer during a service visit does not count. And extending the intervals is tied to an approved fixed system, not something you decide on your own based on your own monitoring.
Continuous Modbus monitoring as support
Where most companies stop at "you have to keep records", the real gain is in automating those records. Almost every modern refrigeration controller (Carel, Danfoss, Emerson/Dixell, Bitzer, Wurm, Eliwell) speaks Modbus RTU or TCP. To see how the protocol works, read what is Modbus. The ModbusCloud Gateway reads those controllers and records temperature, pressure and leak detection continuously in a timestamped digital logbook that you export for audits.
- Flow and return temperature from the refrigeration controller (Carel, Danfoss)
- Suction and discharge pressure as an early sign of refrigerant loss
- Fixed leak detection via Modbus or a volt-free alarm contact
Continuous monitoring provides timestamped evidence around the logbook and flags leaks early, but does not replace the statutory leak check by a competent person.
The practical benefit is twofold. A gradual pressure drop on the suction or discharge side often signals refrigerant loss weeks before the next scheduled check, at constant load. And during an inspection you have a traceable, timestamped data trail instead of loose notes. How to set up such thresholds and alerts is covered in Modbus alerts setup.
Be honest about the limits. Continuous monitoring supports the record-keeping and alarm duties and flags leaks early, but it does not replace the statutory leak check by a competent person. ModbusCloud is also not an approved fixed leak detection system within the meaning of Article 5, so you may not extend the check intervals on the strength of it. Treat it as evidence and early warning around the logbook. The wider link between record-keeping, monitoring and compliance is covered in our pillar refrigeration monitoring and F-gas compliance, the concrete logbook fields in F-gas digital logbook, and what changes under the new regulation in F-gas Regulation 2024/573.
Frequently asked questions
What does the ChemKlimaschutzV govern?
The Chemikalien-Klimaschutzverordnung is Germany's federal regulation that implements the EU F-gas Regulation nationally. It mainly governs the certification of companies and the competence (Sachkunde) of personnel who work with fluorinated greenhouse gases.
Does my Dutch BRL 100 apply in Germany?
No. Dutch BRL 100 and BRL 200 certificates do not automatically apply in Germany. If you work on equipment in Germany, you need German company certification and Sachkunde. Both schemes do sit on the same European foundation, EU 2024/573.
What is the difference between company certification and Sachkunde?
Company certification (Betriebszertifizierung) certifies the business (enough certified personnel, tools, procedures), the Sachkundebescheinigung certifies the individual technician. A certified company must deploy competent technicians, both are required.
Which certificates replace the old categories I to IV?
Under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2215, new certificates A1, A2, B, C, D and E apply. Category I maps to A1, B, C; category II to A2, B, C with a charge-size limit; category III to D; category IV to E. The changeover must be complete by 12 March 2029.
From what quantity must I keep an equipment logbook?
From 5 tonnes CO2 equivalent, and from 10 tonnes CO2 equivalent for hermetically sealed and labelled equipment. That is the same threshold as the leak check under Article 5 of EU 2024/573. Records must be kept for at least five years.
Does continuous monitoring replace the statutory leak check?
No. Continuous Modbus monitoring supports record-keeping, provides timestamped evidence and flags leaks early, but does not replace the statutory leak check by a competent person. It is also not an approved fixed leak detection system, so you cannot extend check intervals on it.
The ChemKlimaschutzV is not a paperwork formality but the framework in which a German refrigeration company masters F-gas work: the business through company certification, the technician through Sachkunde, the equipment through the logbook. For companies working across the border it is a second set of records next to BRL 100, on the same European foundation. The common thread stays record-keeping. Continuous Modbus monitoring makes that logbook richer and flags leaks earlier, within the honest limit that the statutory leak check by a competent person remains.