He European Parliament approved today the new regulations on charging infrastructure for the energy transition in transportwhich provides plugs for electric cars on the main transport routes every 60 km, for trucks every 120 km and hydrogen tanks every 200 km.
The charging points will have to extend through the TEN-T network and have a minimum power of 400 kilowatts (kW) in 2026 and 800 kW in 2028, the Eurochamber reported in a statement.
The charging stations for trucks and buses will have to be installed on half of the main roads in the EU by 2028, with an initial power of 1,400 kW that will go up to 2,800 kW depending on the road, reaching a charging point at least every 200 kilometers by 2031.
Stations should be open to all drivers, have simple payment systems, and display prices and waiting times.
The new rules, designed to facilitate the transition to zero-emission vehicles, the only ones that can be marketed in the EU from 2035, also make room for hydrogen, requiring hydrogen generators every 200 kilometers on the main roads.
“The use of more sustainable, renewable and efficient energy solutions in the transport sector will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, improve the quality of life of citizens and create new high-quality jobs”, said the chief negotiator of the file in the eurochamberBulgarian Social Democrat Petar Vitanov.
He European Parliament approved by 514 votes in favor, 52 against and 74 abstentions the file on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure.
And it also validated the new regulations on Sustainable Marine Fuels by 55 yeses, 48 noes and 25 abstentions, after having reached a political agreement with the countries in both cases, which will also have to be adopted by the Council of the EU to acquire official status.
The second text seeks to promote greener maritime fuels, requiring ships to gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the energy they use.
Ships weighing more than 5,000 tons of cargo, which are considered responsible for 90% of CO2 emissions from the maritime sector, will be required to reduce 2% in 2025, compared to 2020, and 80% to from 2050.
Those requirements will apply “to all energy used on board in or between EU ports, as well as 50% of the energy used on voyages where the port of departure or arrival is outside the EU or in the regions outermost regions of the EU”, specified the Eucorámara.
In addition, and from 2030, while they are moored in dock, they will have to work with electricity and they will have to charge at least 2% of renewable fuels of biological origin (RFNBO, for its acronym in English) if by 2031 the European Commission detects that these account for less than 1% of refueling.
“The new rules establish, by far, the most ambitious path in the world to decarbonise maritime transport,” stressed the rapporteur for the text at the meeting. eurochamberthe popular Swede Jörgen Warborn, who assured that the new regulations make “Europe a pioneer in creating a demand for sustainable fuels and in promoting innovation”.
Once the Council has approved both laws, the alternative fuels infrastructure rules will apply from six months after they come into force, and the sustainable marine fuels rules will apply from January 1, 2025.