There is still progress to be made in Europe when it comes to deploying infrastructure for alternative fuels

Eric von Breska, Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission (DG MOVE), presented an overview of the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels to the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) on Wednesday 29 January. Although progress has been made, the network is still far from complete.

The Regulation on the Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure (‘AFIR’), which came into force in April 2024, sets mandatory minimum national targets for the deployment of such infrastructure and requires EU countries to submit their plans on how to achieve them (see EUROPE 13474/23).

According to von Breska, the power output of charging points has increased over the course of 2024, meaning that more vehicles can be charged at the same time at a charging point. “We have a much better coverage right now in terms of recharging infrastructure than we used to have in the past”, he emphasised. In terms of aggregate power, all Member States have good coverage and exceed the minimum requirements, except Malta, which is still lagging behind.

However, in some Member States, take-up rates are rather low. “This is obviously a key challenge for recharging operators, because it means that they cannot operate these recharging points as profitably as they would like”, he explained. In 2024, electric vehicles accounted for just under 14% of new sales. “We expect the market to pick up again in 2025”, thanks to the new CO₂ emission standards that will come into force for cars and vans and the launch of a series of new models announced by manufacturers, which should be smaller and more affordable for EU citizens.

Finally, heavy commercial vehicles are also lagging behind, because they need more energy than cars and vans, and therefore more high-power recharging stations. “We are finding that many high-power charging stations are not really accessible to trucks, because they don’t provide the necessary parking space, for example”, deplored von Breska. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)