Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure

The Commission presents a report on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

As a reminder, Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure sets out minimum requirements for the building-up of alternative fuels infrastructure, including recharging points for electric vehicles and refuelling points for natural gas (LNG and CNG) and hydrogen.

Certain articles of the directive stipulate that such recharging and refuelling points when deployed or renewed as from 18 November 2017, shall comply at least with the technical specifications set out in Annex II of the Directive. 

In accordance with Article 8 of the Directive, the Commission is authorised to adopt delegated acts in order to:

- update the references to the standards in the technical specifications where these standards are replaced by new versions thereof adopted by the relevant European or international standardisation organisations;

- supplement Annex II in order to require compliance of the infrastructures to be deployed or renewed with the technical specifications contained in the standards to be developed by the relevant European Standardisation Organisations (ESOs).

The Directive, in Annex II, indicates further needs for setting technical specifications in areas where no reference to standards exists yet, including:

- wireless recharging points for motor vehicles;

- battery-swapping for motor vehicles;

- recharging points for electric buses;

- shore-side electricity supply for inland waterway vessels;

- refuelling points for LNG for inland waterway vessels, sea-going ships and motor vehicles;

- compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling points for motor vehicles.

Exercise of delegation

After consulting the Commission Expert Group ‘Sustainable Transport Forum’ and after informing the European Parliament and the Council of this consultation, the European Commission adopted Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/674 supplementing Directive 2014/94/EU as regards recharging points for L-category motor vehicles, shore-side electricity supply for inland waterway vessels, refuelling points for LNG for waterborne transport, and amending that Directive as regards connectors for motor vehicles for the refueling of gaseous hydrogen.

This Delegated Regulation lays down the following provisions:

- The publicly accessible alternating current (a.c.) recharging points reserved for Lcategory electric vehicles up to 3.7 kVA shall be equipped, for interoperability purposes, with at least one of the following: (i) socket-outlets or vehicle connectors of Type 3a as described in standard EN 62196-2 (for Mode 3 charging); (ii socket-outlets and connectors compliant with IEC 60884 (for Mode 1 or Mode 2 charging).

- The publicly accessible alternating current (a.c.) recharging points reserved for Lcategory electric vehicles above 3.7 kVA shall be equipped, for interoperability purposes, with at least socket-outlets or vehicle connectors of Type 2 as described in standard EN 62196-2.

- The shore-side electricity supply for inland waterway vessels shall comply with standard EN 15869-2 ‘Inland navigation vessels — Electrical shore connection, three phase current 400 V, up to 63 A, 50 Hz — Part 2: Onshore unit, safety requirements’.

- The refuelling points for LNG for inland waterway vessels or sea-going ships, which are not covered by the International Code of the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code), shall comply with standard EN ISO 20519.

- Connectors for motor vehicles for the refuelling of gaseous hydrogen shall comply with standard EN ISO 17268 “Gaseous hydrogen land vehicle refuelling connection devices”.

Following requests received from single Member States and from the Central Commission for Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) to technically update and complement Commission Delegated Regulation EU 2018/674, and following the CEN-CENELEC's letter of 26 November 2018, which informed the Commission of the new developments in the standardisation of natural gas and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, the Commission adopted a new Delegated Regulation to repeal Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/674 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1745) and to include the above-mentioned updates and complements as well as the new developments in the standardisation of natural gas and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure

Lastly, the adoption of a new Commission Delegated Regulation is foreseen in the fourth quarter of 2020 in order to supplement the technical specifications on wireless recharging for motor vehicles and recharging points for electric buses of Annex II of Directive 2014/94/EU. 

The Commission does not intend to include the technical specifications concerning battery swapping for motor vehicles because the relevant European standardisation organisation does not consider such standard a priority for the EU industry.