A new law agreed by the European Union this week will require member countries to significantly ramp up the deployment of publicly available charging stations for electric cars and trucks.
The Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) requires EU country members to ensure that there are public EV charging for cars every 60kms along all main motorways by 2025, and on all secondary highways by 2030.
The new fleet-based targets also mean that charging infrastructure matches EV demand, and vice-versa. The bill also requires at least 3,600kW of truck charging capacity every 60km along the EU’s primary motorways buy 2030, and at least 1,500kW of truck charging capacity every 100km on secondary motorways.
“Charging anxiety will become a thing of the past,” said Fabian Sperka, vehicles policy manager at Transport & Environment (T&E), a European clean transport campaign group.
“Governments will be legally required to ramp up infrastructure as electric car sales grow. Electric car drivers will be able to pay with a bank card anywhere in Europe. It will be as easy to charge an EV in Romania as to fill up the tank in Germany today.”
European ports will also be required to make short-side electricity available for container and passenger ships from 2030, and EU countries will now be required to report their plans for green bunkering points, including electricity, hydrogen, methanol, and ammonia refuelling infrastructure, in their ports.
“The agreement will send a clear signal to citizens and other stakeholders that user-friendly recharging infrastructure and refuelling stations for alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, will be installed throughout the EU,” said Andreas Carlson, Swedish minister for infrastructure and housing.
“This means that more public recharging capacity will be available on the streets in urban areas as well along the motorways. Citizens will no longer have a reason to feel anxious about finding charging and refuelling stations to their electric or fuel-cell car.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
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