COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure accompanying the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council
Date: 2021-07-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: clean technology, electric vehicle, electricity supply, hydrogen, motor vehicle pollution, reduction of gas emissions, renewable energy, substitute fuel, sustainable mobility, transport infrastructure

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.7.2021  SWD(2021) 638 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure  accompanying the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council  on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council          {COM(2021) 559 final} - {SEC(2021) 560 final} - {SWD(2021) 631 final} - {SWD(2021) 632 final} - {SWD(2021) 637 final}  
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The  Alternative  Fuels  Infrastructure  Directive  was  adopted  in  order  to  establish  a  common 
framework of measures to support roll-out of public accessible alternative fuels infrastructure 
in the EU. It should support a sufficient network of recharging and refuelling infrastructure, 
interoperability  of  infrastructure,  adequate  consumer  information  and  effective  vehicle 
integration into electricity grids.  

Main findings 

Effectiveness: the Directive has been slightly effective in achieving its objectives, namely by 
triggering policy action at the level of Member States. Through the Directive and delegated 
acts under that Directive, technical specifications on recharging and refuelling infrastructure 
were  adopted  early  on  that  helped  to  provide  certainty  to  investment  into  alternative  fuels 
vehicles  and  infrastructures.  Particularly  relevant  in  this  context  was  the  adoption  of  a 
common  standard  for  a  recharging  plug  for  electric  vehicles  that  helped  long-term  market 
certainty.  Consequently,  the  Directive  has  had  a  certain  positive  impact  on  the  uptake  of 
alternatively fuelled vehicles and their infrastructure. 

Efficiency:  the  cost  of  the  Directive  have  been  proportional  to  the  benefits  of  the 
implementation  of  the  Directive  and  the  evaluation  did  not  find  any  indication  that  there 
would  have  been  a  largely  more  cost-efficient  approach  possible  for  delivering  the  same 
outcomes.  

Relevance: the Directive is highly relevant  especially considering the EU’s commitment to 
reduce  greenhouse  gas  emission  by  2030  by  at  least  55%  compared  to  the  previous  40% 
reduction  target.  This  has  a  relevant  impact  on  the  required  uptake  of  low-carbon  and 
renewable fuels, vehicles and infrastructure. In order to achieve these ambitious targets, the 
uptake  of  zero-emission  vehicles  and  the  related  public  accessible  infrastructure  needs  to 
accelerate significantly in all market segments of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles but also 
in other transport modes like waterborne transport and aviation.  

Coherence: The evaluation points that there are no real issues with regard to the internal and 
external  policy  coherence  of  this  Directive.  The  evaluation  also  confirms  the  continued 
relevance of the general and specific objectives of the Directive.   

EU added value: the evaluation confirms a principal EU value added of the intervention at 
EU  level.  Markets  for  alternative  fuels  vehicles  and  infrastructure  would  have  been  less 
developed  in  a  scenario  without  the  Directive.  This  is  a  general  point  of  consensus  among 
stakeholders.  Individual  action  at  Member  State  level  would  not  have  resulted  in  common 
market  development  and  related  adoption  of  technical  specifications  for  infrastructure  and 
vehicles.  

However, substantive shortcomings of the current policy framework are also visible:  

  With  regard  to  establishing  a  sufficient  network  of  alternative  fuels  infrastructure, 
Member  States  actions  do  not  sum  up  to  a  comprehensive  common  framework  of 
measures  across  the  EU.  The  absence  of  a  detailed  and  binding  methodology  for 
Member  States  to  calculate  targets  and  adopt  measures  has  led  to  the  identified 
divergence  in  the  level  of  ambition  in  target  setting  and  supporting  policies  in 
Member States.  

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  With regard to establishing full interoperability of infrastructure, the evaluation points 
out that important aspects are not well covered under the current Directive, including 
interoperability of infrastructure for recharging and refuelling heavy-duty use vehicles 
as well as important aspects of user services.  

  With regard to adequate consumer information and payment services, there is lack of 
pervasive high quality of information to customers about the location, availability and 
use  conditions  of  infrastructure.  Moreover,  there  is  a  plethora  of  approaches  to 
finding,  accessing,  using  and  paying,  particularly  in  the  case  of  recharging  points, 
which  is  leading  to  continued  customer  concerns.  Particular  points  of  concerns  are 
information on availability, price transparency and payment services.  

The  current  implementation  practice  shows  a  strong  link  between  vehicle  demand  and 
infrastructure  provision.  However,  infrastructure  provision  takes  time  and  requires  policy 
direction.  The  current  fragmentation  of  the  internal  market,  where  alternative  fuels 
infrastructure take up is driven mainly by a handful of key Member States, is not future-proof 
in  view  of  the  expected  rapid  acceleration  of  vehicle  take  up  in  the  years  to  come.  The 
evaluation  finds  that  the  current  Directive  is  not  fit  for  purpose  in  view  of  the  increased 
policy ambition for cutting transport emissions by 2030 and finally 2050.  

The  evaluation  of  the  Alternative  Fuels  Infrastructure  Directive  confirms  the  need  for 
strengthening  of  the  policy  framework  at  EU  level  for  the  deployment  of  alternative  fuels 
infrastructure to meet the increased climate ambition of the EU for 2030 and the needs of the 
transition to climate neutrality by 2050.  

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