PFAS Summit Europe

With the RAC opinion now published and SEAC’s consultation underway, this session will unpack the latest stage in the EU’s proposed PFAS restriction, exploring key findings so far, areas of uncertainty, and how shifting political priorities may reshape the final framework.

• Status check on RAC and SEAC opinions
  • Key takeaways from the scientific assessment and ongoing socio-economic analysis
  • Expected timing and process for SEAC’s final opinion and Commission review
• Analysing the updated ECHA background documents which added eight new industries
• Understanding the political and industrial context of these opinions, shifting from the Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal
• Anticipating the Commission’s proposal and practical compliance implications for industry and SMEs

Following ECHA’s revised restriction proposal in August, the debate over time-limited vs. time-unlimited derogations has intensified, raising questions about scope, fairness, and enforceability. We’ll take a look at what these new and extended exemptions mean for industry, regulators, and the future credibility of the PFAS restriction.

• Understanding the revised proposal and new derogations
  • Overview of added uses and sectors benefiting from exemptions such as spare parts, polymers, gases, and more
• Reviewing time-unlimited vs. time-limited derogations
  • How “spare part” exemptions could complicate enforcement and lead to uncertainty for large industrial facilities
• Examining how the EU may handle essential-use concepts and future review clauses for long-term exemptions

PFAS is increasingly intersecting with other EU regulatory frameworks, from F-Gas and packaging to water and chemicals legislation, creating overlap, uncertainty, and potential contradictions. We’ll analyse how these parallel regimes interact, and what compliance professionals need to know as the EU moves toward a more integrated chemicals strategy.

• Evaluating F-Gas Regulation and PFAS overlap, and when equipment or substances fall under both frameworks
• Connecting the PFAS dots with packaging and PPWR regulations
  • Reviewing PFAS restrictions in food contact materials and implications under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
• Highlighting PFAS provisions emerging in the Water Framework and Water Resilience Strategy
• Analyzing the REACH review and firefighting foam amendment, and how evolving REACH provisions influence the broader PFAS landscape

PFAS regulation is evolving rapidly and unevenly in several jurisdictions around the world, from the EU, Asia, to the US and beyond. This remains a challenge for companies operating in a global supply chain, dealing with fragmented labelling, product and trade requirements.

• Examining key international developments
  • U.S. federal and state-level restrictions
  • UK-specific restrictions
  • Updates from Asia-Pacific and Latin America
  • Comparing and contrasting these with the EU proposed restriction
• Examining emerging PFAS labelling requirements, where mandates are appearing (U.S., France, Denmark) and their potential to influence EU policy
• Understanding trade and supply chain implications and how differing global rules impact manufacturing, imports/exports, and product formulations
• Reviewing practical strategies for tracking, interpreting, and responding to regulatory changes across multiple markets

Eight new industrial sectors were added under the revised PFAS restriction proposal, including technical textiles, packaging, machinery, defense, and technical. This discussion brings together industry voices to examine how these changes are reshaping operations, supply chains, and product design across Europe.

• Featuring new sectors under the spotlight, from textiles, packaging, machinery, defense, and more
  • Comparing the impact of the proposed restriction in consumer vs. industrial applications
• Highlighting how companies are adapting production, sourcing, and product design to meet evolving restrictions
• Reviewing how cross-sector partnerships are driving solutions, alternative materials, and accountability along the value chain

As the EU moves toward restricting PFAS use, attention is shifting to the practical realities of substitution. Questions arise as to what alternatives exist, which don’t, and how innovation can close the gap.

Our panelists will provide real-world insights from industries where finding viable substitutions remains a challenge.

• Exploring the EU’s pilot project to accelerate substitution and identify PFAS alternatives
• Looking at industries facing decade-long qualification processes for new materials, such as:
  • Aerospace, Automotive, and HVAC
• Ensuring replacements are sustainable and not simply “regrettable substitutions”
• Assessing practical constraints and market risks:
  • Supply shortages, cost implications, and the risk of critical suppliers exiting before alternatives are ready

While the EU continues to treat fluoropolymers under the broader PFAS restriction proposal, regulators in the U.S. and Canada are taking different paths, creating a fragmented global landscape for industry compliance and innovation. We’ll unpack how these varying approaches are influencing regulatory decisions, industry preparedness, and R&D investment toward safer, sustainable alternatives.

• Highlighting the EU’s approach of maintaining broad PFAS classification vs. exemptions in Canada and the US
• What are the perspectives of industries such as semiconductors, aerospace, and medical devices, where fluoropolymers remain indispensable?
• Assessing technical and environmental challenges with fluoropolymers use
  • Working through aggressive emission thresholds and the absence of best available technologies to achieve zero releases
• Reviewing research efforts to develop viable polymer alternatives, performance trade-offs, and qualification timelines