AFIR was officially approved by the European Council, and hundreds of hydrogen refueling stations will be built in Europe by 2030

On 25 July, the Council of the European Union gave final approval to the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which sets targets for charging points and refueling stations in member States and encourages the adoption of zero-emission vehicles. 

The text of the regulation sets out specific deployment targets that must be achieved by 2025 or 2030, in particular:

1.From 2025, fast charging stations of at least 150kW for cars and vans will need to be installed every 60km along the EU's main transport corridors, the so-called Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) network.

2. From 2025, one heavy-duty vehicle charging station with an output power of no less than 350kW will be deployed every 60 kilometers along the TEN-T core network, and one charging station will be deployed every 100 kilometers along the TEN-T integrated network, with full network coverage by 2030;

3. From 2030 onwards, one hydrogen refueling station for both cars and trucks must be deployed every 200 km at all urban nodes and along the TEN-T core network;

4. By 2030, ports hosting a minimum number of large passenger or container ships must provide shore electricity for such ships;

5. Airports must provide electricity to stationary aircraft at all gates by 2025, and to all remote stands by 2030;

6. Users of electric or hydrogen vehicles must be able to pay easily at charging or refuelling points using a payment card or contactless device, without subscription and with full price transparency;

The operators of charging or refueling points must electronically provide consumers with complete information about the availability, wait times or prices of different gas stations.

AFIR's new regulations were officially published by the European Union, which effectively signed them into law and took effect 20 days later. The new law will apply six months after it comes into force.