Scope:

Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure

Evaluation findings:

The evaluation has shown that the Directive has supported the development of policies and measures for the rollout of alternative fuels infrastructure in Member States, particularly through the requirement to develop national policy frameworks (NPFs).

However, shortcomings in the current policy framework have also been identified. The Directive’s key objective, namely to ensure coherent market development in the EU, has not been met. Shortcomings arise in particular in the following three areas: (i) the lack of a complete network of infrastructure allowing seamless travel across the EU; (ii) the need for further common technical specifications to ensure interoperability in light of emerging technologies; and (iii) the lack of full user information, uniform and easy-to-use payment methods and full price transparency across the Union.

The evaluation concluded that 6 years after the Directive’s adoption, the overall European market for alternative fuels infrastructure is still in a rather early development phase, though markets are maturing in some parts of the EU. Given the overall relevance of ensuring sufficient infrastructure to support the needed uptake of vehicles and vessels in light of the increased climate ambition for 2030, the evaluation pointed to the need to improve the Directive.

Estimated savings and benefits

The Directive only contained minimum administrative burden for Member States to develop plans for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure and report on its implementation. The evaluation has not identified disproportional costs related to that exercise. The development of deployment plans and the related reporting was deemed essential for the further deployment of infrastructure.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

In order to contribute to achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and to contribute to the reduction of air pollution, this initiative seeks to ensure the availability and usability of a dense, wide-spread network of alternative fuel infrastructure throughout the EU. All users of alternatively fuelled vehicles (including vessels and aircraft) should be able to circulate at ease across the EU, enabled by key infrastructure such as motorways, ports and airports.

The specific objectives are: 1) ensuring minimum infrastructure to support the required uptake of alternatively fuelled vehicles across all modes and in all Member States to meet the EU’s climate objective, 2) ensuring full interoperability of the infrastructure and 3) ensuring full user information and adequate payment options.

Regulatory fitness is achieved by setting out necessary minimum requirements for public authorities and market actors. The related higher cost to public authorities for supporting infrastructure rollout, particularly in parts of the transport network where demand is low, have to be seen against the backdrop of significantly increased user demand and large-scale opportunities for market growth. The review of policies under the ‘Fit for 55’ policy package will enable the market take-up of zero emission vehicles and the servicing of vessels equipped with shore-side electricity supply. The impact assessment provides a detailed analysis of costs and benefits (link).

While the review increases the overall policy ambition, it also includes some important simplification aspects. This simplification primarily affects charge point operators and mobility service providers. Setting clear and common minimum requirements will simplify their business operations, as they will face similar minimum requirements in all Member States. Such requirements will simplify the use of the infrastructure by private and corporate consumers (who currently face a plethora of use approaches) and enable better business service innovation. Consumer trust in the robustness of an EU-wide network of recharging and refuelling infrastructure will increase, which will support the overall profitability of recharging and refuelling points and support a stable business case. All market actors and user groups will benefit from lower information costs and, in the case of market actors, lower legal compliance costs in the medium term, as the requirements for infrastructure provisioning under the Regulation will be better harmonised. Public authorities can also benefit from a coherent EU-wide framework that will simplify coordination with public and private market actors.

The impact assessment did not identify any area where this initiative’s planned provisions would create a significant and disproportionate cost for SMEs, in comparison to other enterprises. This initiative creates long-term market certainty for investment in recharging and refuelling infrastructure and lays down the foundation for the development of an open data ecosystem that enterprises can use to develop new market services, which will benefit innovative SMEs.

Estimated savings and benefits

The societal benefits will result from the reduction in CO₂ and air pollutant emissions. In general, investments in quantity and quality of infrastructure will not directly lead to a greater uptake of low- and zero-emission vehicles which is rather triggered by other policies, e.g. the CO₂ emission performance standards for cars and vans. The reduction in the external costs of CO₂ emissions is estimated at around €445 billion relative to the baseline over the 2021-2050 period, expressed as present value, while the reduction in the external costs of air pollution at €75 billion.

The initiative is expected to have an overall positive impact on the competitiveness of enterprises that install and operate recharging and refuelling infrastructure, as well as on the competitiveness of the automotive sector itself. This is because the provision of sufficient infrastructure has an impact on the market uptake of zero-emission vehicles, which is a key aspect of the automotive sector’s future competitiveness, as explained in detail in the impact assessment underpinning the proposal for the revision of CO₂ standards for cars and vans.

The costs to public authorities from the requirements to review and update the national policy frameworks (NPFs) and report on the implementation are the same as in the baseline. Monitoring costs may increase to some extent to report on compliance with the strict targets set. The additional costs relative to the baseline cannot be quantified. It is expected however that the provision of standardised data formats, digitised data transfer and a common system of reporting to national access points of Member States will simplify overall reporting under the Directive. 

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

Based on the discussions held in both Council and European Parliament, the co-legislators’ positions align with the objectives and key elements of the Commission’s proposal, including the use of a regulation to replace the original directive the setting of mandatory infrastructure deployment targets for all modes and harmonisation of requirements for the operation of recharging and refuelling stations.