Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility - Unit Contributions

No. The upgrade of existing electric recharging infrastructure is not eligible as specified in the Call text.

Public or private CPOs and e-Mobility Service Providers (e-MSPs) are potentially eligible, as long as they have incurred the installation costs and the infrastructure has been registered in the assets account of these entities.

Manufacturers that supply recharging points to CPOs and/or e-MSPs are not eligible applicants. Site owners, understood as the entities or individuals who own the land but not the assets, are not eligible applicants either.

There is no specific dimension required to design parking lots associated to electric recharging points for LDVs and HDVs. They must be designed according to the prescriptions in force in each relevant European Member state where they are deployed. In addition, they must be in line with the requirements arising from the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation if any, and with functional requirements such as allowing the accessibility to persons with reduced mobility for LDV infrastructure or keeping physically separated the access to HDV and LDV recharging points when both are present in a recharging pool.

Note that recharging points for LDV and HDV will not be considered eligible if located in an elevated or underground parking lot, or on parking lots where recharging points may be primarily used by a specific category of users, such as hotel and car dealers parking.

When the financing contribution supporting the project application from the Implementing Partner or non-Implementing Partner takes the form of debt (i.e. loan, bonds,…), the applicant must demonstrate through the Financial Approval Letter that such financing contributions have been duly approved by the Implementing Partner or a non-Implementing Partner’s governing body in line with its own rules, policies and procedures.

When the financing takes the form of debt, the size of the Implementing Partner’s or financial institution’s financing covering the project of which the proposed action is a part shall be at least 10% of the total project investment cost.

Yes, each project applying for a support under the AFIF calls has to provide a Financial Approval Letter demonstrating that the project has been object of a due diligence performed by a Financial Institution and that its board has decided to provide a financial support of at least 10% of the budget to this project.

A loan can be allocated by a financial institution as lender to a holding company as borrower, for a project to be implemented by a subsidiary or affiliated company, provided that i) the financial contribution finances the project or part of the project for which the applicant intends to request grant support under the AFIF calls and that ii) the borrower (holding company) of the financing is also beneficiary of the grant.

The financing contribution provided by an Implementing Partner or a non-Implementing Partner can take the form of equity.

The Financial Approval Letter indicates that such equity contributions have been duly approved by the Implementing Partner’s or non-Implementing Partner’s governing body in line with its own rules, policies and procedures.

Equity provided solely by an affiliated or other entity that is not a public or private financing institution does not comply with the eligibility conditions, as this does not ensure that an independent due diligence has taken place similar to the one applied by regulated financial institutions.

In contrast with debt financing, no minimum thresholds in terms of amount apply to equity contribution from the Implementing Partner or a non-Implementing Partner supporting the project.

No. To be eligible, a recharging pool and related recharging points have to be dedicated either to HDV or to LDV, with clearly separated access. Recharging pool/points for HDV shall not be accessible to LDV.

For the calculation of the 3-km buffer, you have to measure the driving distance from the nearest exit of the TEN-T road alignment up to the entry point of the recharging station’s location. The nearest exit is the point in which the vehicle leaves the TEN-T road alignment with no possibility to go back (e.g. when the dotted line of a highway exit lane becomes a continued line). The road interchange used to exit has to be fully-fledged allowing both exit and re-entry.

The 3-km driving distance from/to the TEN-T road network is the flexibility offered to project promoters. It will therefore be applied in a strict way.

According to the AFIR Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1804), a recharging point is capable of recharging only one electric vehicle at a time. In the context of the AFIF Call, under the unit contribution topic, it is required that at least 50% of the recharging points in a pool will be able to provide in parallel a power output of 150 kW. For example, in one location with four recharging points of minimum power output of 150 kW, at least two points shall be able to provide a minimum power output of 150 kW simultaneously.

Yes, the financial agreement or the financial framework loan can already be signed by the parties. The project proposal will be evaluated on the basis of the five criteria listed in the call text, including the catalytic effect of the EU financial support.

Yes. The application will be considered as an aggregation of several single projects contributing to a global objective. In such case, each financial institution involved must provide a Financial Approval Letter indicating precisely the part of the project to which a financing is granted. Each financing will represent at least 10% of the concerned part of project.

It is recommended to structure such applications in different work packages per applicant and related financial institution.

To be eligible for funding under the AFIF call, safe and secure parking areas must be located on the TEN-T network or within 3 km (distance from the nearest exit of the TEN-T road alignment). Certification according to the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1012 of 7 April 2022 supplementing Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 is also a requirement for eligibility, ensuring that the parking areas provide a certain level of service and security, categorized into Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum standards.

Under unit contribution, the eligibility on the number of recharging points will be done based on the theoretical power capacity of the power unit. For example, if the central unit has power capacity of 700 kW and four satellites of 350 kW, the number of recharging points that are eligible will be two (2x350 kW).

Public or private financing institution means a bank, a leasing company, a guarantee fund, a mutual guarantee institution, a promotional bank or any other financial institution, including investment funds and institutional investors, duly authorised to carry out lending, investing or leasing activities according to the applicable legislation, established and operating in one or several of the EU Member States.

A bank guarantee is considered as a financing if it is issued in accordance with the principles set forth in the Financial Approval Letter. It should notably demonstrate that the project of the applicant has been subject to a comprehensive risk-based appraisal process by the financial institution (implementing partner or other commercial bank). This implies that the guarantee is granted to secure repayment of a financing (e.g. a loan or a bond) that contributes to the financing of the project.

The template refers to the financing with the understanding that it can take the form of a guarantee. This must be specified in the project summary sheet annexed to the Financial Approval Letter (under section “Sources of funds”).

The agreement (Letter of support) from each Member State where the project is actually implemented is needed, independently from the geographical origin of the partners.

In case two related applications encompassed under a same global project are submitted respectively under the general and cohesion calls, the 10% financing requirement can relate to a single loan for this global project. Note that the comprehensive risk-based analysis of the entire project has to be done by the financial institution providing the 10% financing.

Proposals must involve a financing by a financial institution of at least 10% of the project’s budget. Projects financed only by own resources will not be considered admissible.

Note that as indicated in the Call text "CINEA shall terminate the Grant Agreement if the beneficiary fails to provide proof of the signature of the financing agreement with the financing institution that has provided the Financial Approval Letter, within 12 months after the cut-off date".

In line with the Call text, eligible participants under the Cohesion envelope are legal entities established in one of the Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund.

Entities that are not established in one of the Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund could be exceptionally eligible for funding if the granting authority considers their participation essential for the implementation of the action. However, cost must in any case be incurred in one of the Member States eligible for funding from the Cohesion Fund.

A non-implementing partner is a public or private financing institution that 1) is either a bank, a leasing company, a guarantee fund, a mutual guarantee institution, a promotional bank or any other financial institution, including investment funds and institutional investors, duly authorised to carry out lending, investing or leasing activities according to the applicable legislation, established and operating in one or several of the EU Member States, and that 2) is not an implementing partner, as listed on the funding and tenders portal.

No, an uncommitted credit line/facility does not imply an actual financing on a given project from a financial institution. It only represents a total amount of funding that can be drawn from a credit line without specific purpose. Projects only covered by such credit facility lines are therefore not considered in line with the requirements of this call.

However, it has to be noted that a "committed" credit line may be considered in line with the requirement if the project promoter provides an indicative schedule of the draw down notices and their values to be released during the lifetime of the project for its implementation.

Irrespective of the form of financing selected, including loans, the beneficiary will have to provide, by the time of the final payment under the Grant agreement, a proof of actual monetary transfers from the financing partner, in line with the Article 6 of the AFIF Call texts relating to the eligibility specifying that eligible activities have to be supported by a financing from an Implementing Partner or another public or private financial institution of at least 10% of the Project cost (except for equity).

The indicative budget (rounded at thousand) has to be based on actual costs resulting from tender, benchmark analysis, business case, or any other element allowing the financial institution to perform a due diligence of the project.

No. The beneficiary of the financing can be one of the beneficiaries of the grant. The relevant financial approval letter must however provide at least 10% of the grant and should confirm a due diligence for the full project. For more information, please see the following Q&A on conditions for the financing: 17721; 19462; 18383.

Such caps are only applicable to recharging points along the TEN-T road network, including on safe and secure parking, and in TEN-T urban nodes.

Those caps are not applicable for recharging points supplying public transport and electric infrastructure located in TEN-T inland and maritime ports and TEN-T airports as the call text does not require a minimum power output for the recharging infrastructure for those modes of transport.

No, each financial institution supporting the project will use its specific templates according to its own internal procedures.

The loan can be allocated by a financial institution as lender to the borrower (PTA) for a project to be implemented by a PTO if the latter is a subsidiary or affiliated entity of the PTA provided that:

i) the loan is explicitly used to finance the project (or the global project including it) for which the PTO requests a grant,

ii) the project for which the grant is requested has been subject to a due diligence by the financial institution,

iii) the borrower of the financing is also the beneficiary (or an affiliated entity of the beneficiary) of the grant.

The 2024 calls is based on the revised TEN-T Regulation (EU) (2024)1679 of 13 June 2024 – as indicated in the call document.

However, the application form part B contains references to articles of the previous TEN-T Regulation, which is repealed. The articles referred in part B are to be understood as referring to their corresponding articles in the new TEN-T Regulation, as follows:

• Article 8 replaces Article 7 in section 1.1 TEN-T network – Project of common interest;
• Articles 54 and 55 replace Article 47 in section 1.1 TEN-T network – Project of common interest;
• Articles 3(4) and 3(6) replace Article 3(m) and 3(p) in section 1.4 Cross-border link;
• Article 55 replaces Article 47 in section 1.4 Cross-border link.

No. Applicants wishing to apply for more than one topic must submit a separate proposal under each topic and specify this appropriately in the application form, part A under section 5 – ‘Other questions’.

The eligibility of recharging stations is based on specific maps for either stations at minimum 150 kW or stations at minimum 350 kW (see the eligibility mapsPDF) which show the current state of deployment on the TEN-T road network. The eligibility varies depending on the road sections.

It is compulsory to indicate, if not the exact locations of the recharging stations, at least in which road sections (with Degrees-Minutes-Seconds geographical coordinates) the recharging stations will be installed with the expected number of recharging points. This information will be taken into consideration to evaluate the maturity of a proposal.

Note that it is up to the applicant to evaluate the appropriate level of granularity of the information provided in the application, to allow a proper assessment of the proposal and of its maturity. It is not required to provide the authorisations/permits documentation for each site. It is sufficient to provide aggregate information per group of stations in different development phases.

Note as well that adjustments may be possible during project implementation in case of justified issues with some locations.

A project's starting date is wherever the first task is scheduled to begin. The end date is where the last task is scheduled to end. To call attention to important dates on the critical path, like a project's kick-off, permitting processes or finally delivery, you should indicate the relevant milestones for each Work Package in part B and the Gantt chart of the application.

It is up to the applicant to establish the starting date of the project. Please note that information on the process regarding procurement, contracts, authorisations, approvals and permits is important to assess the maturity of a project and shall be provided under section 2.2 Application form part B about the status of contracting procedures and authorisations, approvals and permits.

Note that some tasks are not eligible under the AFIF Calls, such as permitting, procurement, project management and communication. We encourage you to carefully read section 2 of the Call text on eligible and non-eligible activities.

Note as well that the starting date shall not be earlier than the application date. However, an application can be submitted before the cut-off date. In terms of project duration, note that a project should end within maximum 39 months from the cut-off date.

Works concerned by the need to perform an EIA are those covered the Directive 2011/92/EU, in Annex I of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2012 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (the 'EIA Directive'). For projects listed in Annex II of the EIA Directive, the national authorities have to decide whether an EIA is needed. This is done by the "screening procedure", which determines the effects of projects on the basis of thresholds/criteria or a case by case examination.

Yes, in case of several financial institutions involved, only one needs to deliver a Financial Approval Letter provided that it covers a financing of 10% of the total cost of the project and that this financial institution has performed the due diligence of the entire project. The Financial Approval Letter explicitly refers to this comprehensive risk-based appraisal process of the financial institution, in line with its rules, policies and procedures. A Financial Approval Letter is then not required from the other financing institutions financing the project but may be provided in support of the project.

Yes, the loan can finance other components of a global project, provided that i) the scope of this global project subject to the due diligence includes the project submitted in the application and that ii) the due diligence upon which the Financial Approval Letter is based, includes the activities within the scope of the project submitted in the application.

Yes, a financial institution can refer in the Financial Approval Letter to an existing loan financing a global project, even if already used for previous EU funded projects to satisfy the 10% financing requirement, if it is confirmed that:

i) the AFIF Project is part of the global project,

ii) a due diligence has been carried out for the project object of the Financial Approval Letter,

iii) the total amount of the loan is sufficient to cover the previous projects for which it has been used and the actual one.

Recharging pool means one or more recharging stations at a specific location, as defined by Article 2 (51) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR).

Yes. The TEN-T road network is the one defined by Regulation 1315/2013 of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, or the Regulation replacing it, whichever will be in force at the cut-off dates. Note that the notion of extended network relates only to the timeframe for completion.

Under the topic “unit contribution” one has to refer to the eligibility maps to identify the sections of the TEN-T road network that may be eligible.

No. The financial support provided by an Implementing Partner or another public or private financial institution has to represent at least 10% of the project cost, with the exception of financing taking the form of equity. Intragroup financing does not satisfy this eligibility condition.

Information on the process regarding authorisations, approvals and permits is important to assess the maturity of a project and shall be provided under section 2.2 Application form part B about the status of contracting procedures and authorisations, approvals and permits.

Where a clear schedule is not yet set for some locations, applicant should at least provide the indicative planning for the various authorisations, as this is part of the critical path of a project.

Please note that it is up to the applicant to evaluate the appropriate level of granularity of the information provided in the application, to allow a proper assessment of the proposal and of its maturity. It is not required to provide the authorisations/permits documentation for each site. It is sufficient to provide aggregate information per group of stations in different development phases.

The power output shall be the theoretical power output of the recharging point as specified by the manufacturer of the equipment.

The financial contribution should finance the project or part of the project for which the Applicant requests grant support under the CEF-T-AFIF.

The beneficiary of the financing shall be the beneficiary or one of the beneficiaries of the grant.

The Implementing Partner or a non-Implementing Partner shall confirm – in the Financial Approval Letter - that the Project for which the Applicant intends to request grant under the CEF-T-AFIF has been subject, for the purpose of the financial institution’s own financing to a comprehensive risk-based appraisal process, in line with its rules, policies and procedures.

As defined in Annex II to Directive 2007/46/EC, LDV means a motor vehicle of categories M1 or N1 and HDV means a motor vehicle of categories M2, M3, N2 or N3.

An urban node means an urban area where elements of the transport infrastructure of the trans-European transport network for passengers and freight, such as ports, including passenger terminals, airports, railway stations, bus terminals and multimodal freight terminals, located in and around the urban area are connected with other elements of that infrastructure and with the infrastructure for regional and local traffic, including infrastructure for active modes.

Standards for SSPAs have been developed in the study on safe and secure parking. In accordance with Art. 8a of Regulation 561/2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport, the European Commission has prepared a delegated act (entry into force currently envisaged before end of June - subject to the applicable administrative procedure), which will provide for common EU (safety, security and service) standards that parkings must fulfil to be certified in line with the EU certification procedure, also established in this delegated act.

The EU also provides funding under CEF for development of new and upgrade of the existing safe and secure parking areas that aim to be certified in line with the EU standards.

Yes, an application the AFIF topic “Unit Contribution” can combine the deployment of recharging points for respectively Heavy-Duty Vehicle (HDV) and Light Duty Vehicle (LDV) provided that the project meets the specific requirements for both types of infrastructure, including location and power output specifications.

Note that it is important to ensure that the project proposal clearly outlines the separation of HDV and LDV recharging points, in particular that recharging points for HDV must be dedicated to HDV vehicles only.

For additional information on dimensions for the parking lots for LDV and HDV, please consult the following FAQ38921. Regarding accessibility, please consult the following FAQ38918.

Note that an application combining recharging points of 350kW/150kW (CCS) dedicated to HDV and 1MW (MCS) for HDV cannot be submitted under the Unit Contribution topic, but only under the COST topic. Alternatively, it can be presented in 2 separate applications, one under “Unit Contribution” for recharging points at 150/350kW and a one under “COST” for 1MW recharging points.

Yes, it is. The AFIF will only fund projects based on a blend or combination between EU grants and financial support from a financial institution either having signed an Administrative Agreement with the European Commission (Implementing Partners) or being a public or private bank.

No. Each recharging point must have the technical capacity to deliver a minimum power capacity of 350 kW, but it is not required to deliver this maximum power when the recharging points are used in parallel. However, as for the recharging points at 150kW, at least 50% of the eligible recharging points in a pool will be able to provide in parallel a power output of 350 kW.

Reservation/booking services are compatible with the public access principle as a premium service provided that reservation is an additional and voluntary service offered by the operator and not a prerequisite for recharging at the infrastructure. This means that ad hoc recharging without compulsory registration is ensured. All other provision of Art. 5 REGULATION (EU) 2023/1804 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 September 2023 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU must be equally respected.

The technical, economic and financial aspects will be evaluated for all proposals. However, where the submission of a CBA is not required, applicants are expected to provide qualitative information on the expected economic, social, environmental and climate impact of the project to which the application relates.

Irrespective of the form of financing selected, including loans, the beneficiary will have to provide, by the time of the final payment under the Grant agreement, a proof of actual monetary transfers from the financing partner, in line with the Article 6 of the AFIF Call texts relating to the eligibility specifying that eligible activities have to be supported by a financing from an Implementing Partner or another public or private financial institution of at least 10% of the Project cost (except for equity).