Impact of the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) Directive on charging plazas?
By 2050, Europe wants to be climate neutral.
To achieve this goal, the transition to electric mobility is in full swing.
We see this in Belgium mainly in the many company cars that are becoming 100% electric at a brisk pace.
However, there must be enough charging points and/or alternative fuels filling stations in the EU to support the transition for everyone, not just those who can charge at home.
Therefore, a regulation on infrastructure for alternative fuels was developed and adopted by the European Council in July 2023.
This regulation is part of the Fit-for-55 package and in it, on the one hand, are targets in terms of installed charging infrastructure (but also hydrogen infrastructure).
On the other hand, it also includes requirements for payment options and information to be displayed.
This specifically involves ad hoc charging, electronic payment and the provision of clear information on prices.
We focus in this article on the latter, the pricing and payment modalities.
What are the specific requirements for existing and/or new charge points to be installed and what impact does this have for your situation ?
Europe has imposed rules with the AFIR legislation toward price transparency and payment options at (semi-)public charging stations, but they have not stopped at semi-public charging stations.
For which charging points and from when will there be an impact ?
Publicly accessible charging points to be installed from April 13, 2024 must allow for payment for an ad hoc charging session using a common payment system, which a charging card is not.
Accessible charging points shall include : “private publicly accessible charging or refueling points located on public or private property, such as public parking lots or supermarket parking lots. A charging or refueling point on private property that is open to the public should be considered publicly accessible, even if access is restricted to a certain general group of users, for example customers.”
In addition, the regulation also mentions the following : “Loading or refueling points on private property whose access is restricted to a limited and circumscribed group of persons, such as parking lots in an office building accessible only to employees or authorized persons, should not be considered publicly accessible loading or refueling points.” Thus, in practice, this means that an office parking lot with a bareel basically does not have to meet the payment or information requirements.
Charging points where the charging session is offered free of charge are also not covered by this regulation.
What should new publicly accessible infrastructure meet ?
Specifically, operators must ensure that charging sessions at the charging points in question can be paid via terminals and devices for payment services.
This involves at least one of the following solutions :
- A payment card reader
- Contactless payment devices that can at least read payment cards
- Specifically for charging points with a capacity <50kW : devices with an internet connection and the possibility of a secure payment transaction (e.g. : generation of a QR code)
By January 1, 2027, all charging points with power >50kW along our main highways (TEN-T road network) must comply with requirement 1 or 2, including for charging points installed before April 13, 2024.
For powers <50kW, the application is only to new charge points from April 13, 2024.
What is possible is a single payment terminal or device that can operate several charging stations.
One terminal per charging station.
What pricing information should be available ?
Prices charged by operators of publicly accessible charging points shall be reasonable, easily and clearly comparable, transparent and non-discriminatory.
For charge points with a capacity of >50kW, the price per kWh of electricity supplied should be stated, along with a per-minute rotation rate, if applicable.
For charge points with a capacity of <50kW, all pricing components should be clearly and readily available so that they are in advance the loading session are known.
The price components should be listed in the following order :
- Price per kWh
- Price per minute
- Price per session
- All other possible components
How to respond to this ?
For existing charging plazas with charge points <50kW : no action required.
For loading docks installed as of April 13, 2024 :
- ÓOr ensure that the loading bay is not publicly accessible = do not publish and allow access only to own employees and authorized persons
- Either offer the charging sessions for free for everyone
- Or install a charging plaza with a payment terminal or ability to pay via QR Code
By Bart Massin
Chief e-mobility Officer
Fleet.services@stroohm.be