Overview
- Researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt used data from 22 air-monitoring stations and transport models to trace persistently elevated SF6 to the Heilbronn/Bad Wimpfen area at roughly 30 tonnes per year for 2020–2023.
- Solvay reported 56 kilograms of SF6 emissions for 2023 from its Bad Wimpfen plant, while the company says it is monitoring the situation and implementing measures without confirming a leak.
- The Baden-Württemberg environment ministry says the analysis cannot conclusively attribute emissions to a single facility, yet other regional users were excluded as sources in the ministry’s responses.
- The Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart issued legal orders, site checks uncovered previously unknown SF6 emissions that have been reduced, safety valves are being replaced, the abatement system is under review, and an external report is pending in the coming weeks.
- Authorities have required Solvay to submit a self-monitoring plan by mid-December 2025, and officials are assessing potential regulatory violations, underscoring calls to pair industry reporting with independent top-down verification for this long-lived gas.