New REACH regulation: After years of deliberations, on February 29, 2024, the REACH Regulatory Committee finally approved the application submitted by Gerhardi Kunststofftechnik GmbH for the use of chromium trioxide for the coating of plastics for automotive applications. The application was submitted by Forschungsgesellschaft Kunststoffe e.V. (FGK).
REACH regulatory committee blocked
After the application (Gerhardi Joint Application) had already been submitted on February 22, 2016, a substitution plan was drawn up at the subsequent request of the EU Commission and submitted on December 8, 2020. On June 28, 2021, this was classified as "credible" by the European Chemicals Agency. Since then, however, the application has been blocked in the REACH Regulatory Committee, which is made up of representatives of the EU member states and the EU Commission.
End of the review period brought forward
In recent weeks, at the request of the EU Commission, the consortium has provided additional information and made certain concessions to enable approval by the REACH Regulatory Committee. Among other things, the end of the review period has now been brought forward to September 21, 2029. A review report must be submitted by March 21, 2028, outlining the extent to which the plans set out in the substitution plan have been implemented.