In order to help deliver an environmentally sustainable transport network that contributes to the ambitious objectives laid out in the EU Green Deal, the European Union will support 42 projects with more than EUR 424 million of funding for the roll-out of alternative fuels supply infrastructure. They have been selected under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU funding programme supporting European transport infrastructure.
Under the fifth and last selection round of the first AFIF call for proposals for which the submission deadline was 7 November 2023, 42 projects have been selected to receive in total EUR 424 million of EU grant support. This funding is coupled with financing from major financial institutions to achieve a higher impact of the EU grants.
With this selection, AFIF will support approximately 4,200 electric recharging points along the European TEN-T road network, 48 hydrogen refuelling stations for cars, trucks and buses and the electrification of ground handling services in 21 airports.
European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean, said: “Since 2021, the EU has granted over EUR 1.3 billion through AFIF to several projects, deploying 26,396 electric recharging points, 202 hydrogen refuelling stations, and electrifying ground operations in 63 airports. This last call was the most successful regarding the projects’ number and quality so far, showing the growing interest in hydrogen and electric charging infrastructure.”
The Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), Paloma Aba Garrote, also stated: “We continue to support projects of paramount importance to the realisation of the objectives laid out under the EU Green Deal. With this new selection, the European Union is showing that a transition to zero-emission transport through alternative fuels is not a dream for the future, but something that is happening now across the EU”.
A new AFIF call for applications is currently open for which the first submission deadline is 24 September 2024.
Background
The objective of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) call for proposal is to support the deployment of alternative fuel supply infrastructure, contributing to decarbonising transport along the TEN-T network.
With a total budget of EUR 1 billion for the 2024-2025 period, AFIF will keep on funding projects through the combination of CEF grants and financing from financial institutions. It is implemented through a rolling call for proposals launched on 29 February 2024, with 3 cut-off dates for the submission of proposals until the end of 2025.
Next steps
Following the EU Member States’ approval of the selected projects on 9 April 2024, the European Commission will adopt the award decision in the coming weeks, following which the results will become definitive. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has started the preparation of the grant agreements with the beneficiaries of the successful projects.
For more information