The virtual conference entitled “Turning the page: the next chapter for electric road transport” on charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure took place under the auspices of the German EU Council Presidency. Representatives of the European Commission, EU Member States, European stakeholder groups and industry are discussing the requirements for a user-friendly infrastructure that is reliable across Europe.

About the conference:

In order to successfully manage the changeover to alternative drivetrains and fuels, we need a refuelling and charging infrastructure that is interoperable, user-friendly and state-of-the-art in terms of technology. This requires rules ensuring that charging infrastructure can easily be found in all EU Member States, that the authentication process is simple and that price transparency as well as harmonized payment systems are guaranteed. This is the only way to make consumers change to electric mobility.

The Ministry summarized the results of the discussion for the European Commission and thus submitted recommendations for the upcoming revision of Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFID). By adopting a New Mobility Approach, Germany intends to gear the transport system throughout Europe to sustainability and climate change mitigation and at the same time make investments in order to future-proof economies, businesses and jobs in the EU.