The European Parliament is discussing a ‘Directive on the Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure’. The initial proposal from the Commission aims to ensure that member states deploy a minimum number charging points for electric vehicles.

The recently published EU White Paper on transport focuses on the decarbonisation of the road sector over the next few years by cutting oil dependence and accelerating the market uptake for alternative fuels and vehicles, creating a more sustainable transport system throughout Europe.

A major obstacle for consumer acceptance and deployment is the lack of alternative fuel infrastructure and common technical specifications for the vehicle-infrastructure interface. The main alternative fuel options are electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, natural gas (in the forms of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), or Gas-To-Liquid (GTL)) , and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The Commission and Parliament agree that the existence of this infrastructure is essential for the deployment of the alternative fuel market and hence, a major step to achieve the ambitious green targets laid down in the new white paper. Implementation costs would come from cohesion funds, TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Networks) and private sector investment. Political negotiations will continue in the coming months and a final vote is expected in February 2014.

Further information can be found via this link: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2013/0012(COD)