Parliament adopted its negotiating position on Wednesday on rules for the use of charging stations and alternative fuels (such as electric or hydrogen) for cars, trucks, trains and planes, which should lead to faster development of sustainable vehicles. The new rules are part of the ‘Fit for 55 in 2030’ legislative package, the EU’s action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
More charging and supply stations
MEPs agreed to set mandatory national minimum targets for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure. Member States will have to present their strategy by 2024 to specify how they intend to achieve these targets.
According to the adopted text, an electric charging station for cars must be installed every 60 kilometers along the main roads of the EU by 2026. The same requirements would apply to trucks and buses, but only on the main axes of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), with more powerful charging stations. Disadvantaged regions, islands and roads with little traffic could benefit from exemptions.
MEPs also suggested installing more hydrogen stations along main roads (every 100 km, instead of every 150 km as initially proposed by the Commission), and a faster roll-out (by 2028 instead of 2031).
Simply charge your vehicle
Alternative filling stations must be accessible to all car brands and payment must be facilitated. The price per kWh or per kg must be communicated, affordable and comparable. MEPs also want a European platform for data on alternative fuels to be set up by 2027, which will provide information on availability, waiting times and prices at various stations in Europe.
Sustainable marine fuels
MEPs also adopted their negotiating position on new rules for the use of renewable and low-emission fuels in maritime transport. Parliament wants the maritime sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 2% by 2025, by 20% by 2035 and by 80% by 2050 compared to 2020 levels (the Commission offered reductions of 13% and 75%) at.
This would apply to ships over 5000 tonnes, responsible for 90% of CO2 emissions, energy consumption on board, in or between EU ports, and 50% of energy consumption for voyages whose port of departure or arrival is outside the EU, or in its outermost regions.
MEPs also set a 2% target for the use of renewable fuels and required container ships and passenger ships to use shore power from 2030 when they dock in major EU ports. This would significantly reduce air pollution in ports.
To ensure compliance, MEPs support the introduction of sanctions. The revenue generated from this should go to the Ocean Fund to help with decarbonisation of the maritime sector, energy efficiency and zero-emission propulsion technologies.
Quotes
Ismail Ertug, rapporteur for alternative fuels infrastructure (S&D, DE), said: “Currently we have 377,000 charging stations in the EU, but that is half of what we should have achieved if EU countries kept their promises. We need to address this decarbonization bottleneck and quickly deploy alternative fuels infrastructure to save the green deal.”
The rapporteur on sustainable marine fuels, Jörgen Warborn (EPP, SE), underlined: “We are now presenting the most ambitious path in the world for decarbonising the maritime sector. Parliament’s position ensures that our climate goals are met quickly and efficiently, keeping the maritime sector competitive and ensuring there is no carbon leakage or jobs leaving Europe.”
Next steps
The negotiating mandate on the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels was adopted by 485 votes to 65 and 80 abstentions, that on sustainable marine fuels by 451 votes to 137 and 54 abstentions. Parliament is now ready for negotiations with the Member States.
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