We will apply the latest national standard for automotive air conditioning systems.

Trainee Reporter: Han Jie; Correspondents: Wu Qiqi, Lian Junyan

Recently, the national standard GB/T 45816-2025 "Safety Requirements for Refrigerant Systems in Road Vehicle Air Conditioning Systems," drafted under the leadership of the Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute of Zhejiang University, was officially released and will be formally implemented on February 1, 2026.

This standard applies to air conditioning systems in passenger cars and commercial vehicles using HFC-134a, HFO1234yf, and R744 refrigerants. It specifies detailed safety performance standards for refrigerant sealing, system design, etc., aiming to reduce potential risks to personnel, vehicles, and the environment due to system or refrigerant failures, and ensuring a safety level comparable to the previously mainstream R134a system.

Automotive air conditioning system (highway vehicles). Source: Longquan News Release

“Where standards are set, there is a voice,” explained Xiong Shusheng, Dean of the Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute of Zhejiang University. “In the era of traditional automotive air conditioning, Longquan enterprises were in a state of ‘catching up’; in the era of new energy vehicle thermal management, they were in a state of ‘running alongside’; and in the current field of new refrigerants, Longquan is in a state of ‘industry leadership’.”

Longquan’s leadership in setting national standards is underpinned by its reliance on physical research institutions, transforming mountainous industries from small workshops into industrial clusters. In the past, Longquan started in the “small hardware” sector of the automotive parts industry, with low product quality and numerous difficulties in innovation. In recent years, the Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute of Zhejiang University has collaborated with upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain to overcome key challenges, break through bottlenecks, and improve the transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements, empowering the high-quality development of the new energy vehicle thermal management industry through technological innovation.


Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute. Source: Longquan News Release

In the process of setting this standard, the Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute of Zhejiang University fully utilized the advantages of the Longquan industrial base, uniting with R&D institutions of vehicle manufacturers such as FAW Group, SAIC Group, and China Automotive Engineering Research Institute, well-known parts companies such as Sanhua and Mahle, and local backbone enterprises such as Kobol and Mitsubishi to participate in the standard setting. The Longquan Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, serving as a "one-stop" service platform for quality infrastructure in the auto parts industry, is driving the transformation of Longquan's auto parts thermal management industry from "passive compliance" to "proactive leadership."

Currently, Longquan boasts the largest auto parts thermal management industrial cluster in China, with over 200 auto parts companies and a total industrial output value exceeding 10 billion RMB. Longquan has led or participated in the formulation of nearly 30 auto parts standards. A relevant official from the Longquan Municipal Bureau of Economy and Commerce stated that they will continue to encourage enterprises to actively participate in the formulation of national and industry standards, further deepen industry-academia-research cooperation, and strive to build Longquan into a highland for new energy thermal management R&D, a national intelligent manufacturing base for thermal management, and an international distribution center for thermal management products.