On 8 March, the European Commission (EC) published a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFID), which highlighted an increase of ambition regarding electric vehicles.
This report presents the results of the assessment of action taken by the Member States in the implementation of the AFID and the development of markets for alternative fuels and alternative fuels infrastructure in the Union.
The document explains that technical specifications developed under the Directive have proven to be highly relevant, but new needs for technical specifications under the Directive have emerged. These concerns particularly the interoperability and transparent exchange of information among the different players within the electric vehicle charging ecosystem. Standards for recharging heavy-duty vehicles and refuelling liquid hydrogen are required.
The EC highlights also that the cost-efficient integration of an increased number of electric vehicles in the electricity system must be ensured. To avoid grid congestion and to limit costly investments into grid infrastructure smart charging of electric vehicles is key. Smart integration of electric vehicles and bi-directional charging will also provide flexibility for the overall management of the energy system and thus help to integrate increased shares of variable renewable energy production. While the Electricity Directive and the Electricity Regulation adopted in 2019 provide the legislative framework on the electricity market side, additional requirements concerning the recharging point and the communication between the recharging point and the vehicle might be required to fully enable smart and bi-directional charging.
Furthermore, there is no detailed and binding methodology for the Member States to calculate targets and adopt measures, the level of ambition in target setting and supporting policies in place varies greatly between the Member States. For example, the share projected by the Member States for electric cars in the total car fleet for 2030 varies between less than 1% and more than 40%. The corresponding infrastructure targets reflect the different levels of ambition, meaning that the planned deployment of infrastructure varies greatly between the Member States.
The analysis of this report shows the importance of the AFID in triggering the development of policies and measures for the roll-out of alternative fuels infrastructure in the Member States, by transposing the Directive into National Policy Frameworks (NPFs). With differences across the Member States, those policy frameworks have started to help building a long-term forward-looking perspective on infrastructure for electricity, natural gas, and hydrogen until 2030.
Source: European Commission
