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Revision of the Directive on Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure

In “A European Green Deal”

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On 16 September 2020, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter of intent to David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament, and Chancellor Angela Merkel, as the Presidency of the Council, listing the actions the Commission intends to take in 2021. These actions included the revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive. The 2021 Commission Work Programme foresaw the publication of the proposal in the second quarter of 2021. 

The 2014 Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive required EU countries to develop national policy frameworks (NPFs) for developing publicly available refuelling and recharging points for alternative fuel vehicles and vessels. The Directive aims to improve coordination of alternative fuel infrastructure development to provide the long-term security needed for investment in the technology for alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles. 

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission presented a package of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, known as the Fit for 55 package. The package included the proposal to revise the 2014 Directive on alternative fuels infrastructure. The Commission proposed to repeal the directive and replace it with a regulation, suggesting that the the change of instrument is needed to ensure “swift and coherent development” of the infrastructure network across the EU.

In the proposal, the Commission set a number of mandatory national targets for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure in the EU, for road vehicles, vessels and stationary aircraft.

For publicly available electric charging infrastructure for light duty road vehicles (cars and vans), the draft regulation set out mandatory national fleet based targets (e.g. for every battery electric light duty vehicle a total power output of at least 1 kW should be provided through publicly accessible recharging stations (a recharging station is defined as single physical installation at a specific location, consisting of one or more recharging points). It also set out distance-based targets for light duty and heavy-duty road vehicles on the TEN-T core and comprehensive network (e.g. publicly accessible recharging pools (one or more recharging stations) dedicated to light-duty vehicles should be deployed in each direction of travel with a maximum distance of 60 km in between them). It also required EU Member States to ensure a number of recharging stations are in place for heavy-duty vehicles in urban nodes.

For hydrogen, the proposal required publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations to be deployed with a maximum distance of 150 km in between them along the TEN-T core and the TEN-T comprehensive network and at least one should be available in every urban node.

As regards, electricity supply to vessels and stationary aircraft, the draft regulation set targets for the deployment of shore-side electricity supply for certain seagoing container and passenger ships in maritime ports and for inland waterway vessels, and for electricity supply to stationary aircraft at TEN-T core and comprehensive network airports.

In the Parliament, the file has been referred to the Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN). The rapporteur is Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany).

The first discussion in TRAN took place on 1 December 2021. The Slovenian Presidency progress report was discussed at the Council Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting on 9 December 2021.

The draft report was published on 14 February 2022 and presented to the TRAN committee on 14 March 2022. It makes several amendments to strengthen the Commission's proposed provisions. The deadline for amendments in TRAN was set for 18 March 2022. 

On 2 June 2022, the Council adopted its General Approach, its position for negotiations with the Parliament on the final wording of new rules. On 19 October, the Parliament adopted its position for the interinstitutional negotiations. Among other changes, the Parliament's position advocated for at least one electric charging pool for cars every 60 km along TEN-T road network by 2026 and hydrogen refuelling stations along main EU roads every 100 km by 2028.

The Council and Parliament negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the new rules on the 28 March 2023. It now needs the formal approval in both institutions.

Parliament's TRAN committee approved the deal on 24 May 2023 and the Parliament's plenary approved the new rules on 11 July 2023. The Council approved the text on 25 July 2023. The final act was signed on 13 September 2023 and published in the Official Journal of the EU on 22 September 2023. 

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Further reading:

Author: Jaan Soone, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/04/2024.