Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility - Co-funding Rate

Yes. Works on the grid connection of a port associated to the deployment of On-Shore Power infrastructure (OPS) may be eligible irrespective of the existence of a concession or rental contract between the port authority and a public or private entity, provided that the terminal and the OPS infrastructure is opened to all potential users.

No, eSAF production and supply are not covered by this call.

No. HRS for public transport are only eligible if located in an urban node (e.g. bus depot). HRS located on the TEN-T road network or within a maximum driving distance of 10 km from the nearest exit of a TEN-T road must be publicly accessible. If such a station is designed to supply both buses and other users, it may be eligible provided that all the hydrogen supply dispensers are openly accessible to any user.

Yes. The electrification of airport ground services and electricity supply to stationary aircraft and airships may include the supply of electricity to commercial aviation aircraft propelled by electricity. Note however that only TEN-T airports are considered eligible locations.

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

Hydrogen storage tanks may be considered eligible if necessary for the functioning of an HRS station and if located on site. In this case, they may be considered as part of the HRS, and not a synergetic element, unless used as a general storage to feed several stations.

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.

Yes. An electrolyser based on the use of Renewable Energy Sources can be deployed either on the same site or in a different location than the HRS. Such green hydrogen production facility may be eligible as a synergetic element within a limit of 20% of the total eligible costs of the project.

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.

No, the upgrade of HRS is not eligible under the AFIF calls.

No. Inland waterway and short sea shipping vessels as well as vessels and equipment for port operations, may be eligible only in combination with the refuelling infrastructure. As mentioned in the Call text, it has to be clearly “demonstrated that an initial number of vessels is needed to kick-start the use of the supported refuelling infrastructure. The eligible cost shall be limited to the difference in cost between a fossil-fuel vessel and the zero-emission vessel”.

Yes. Such an electrical infrastructure may be eligible in combination with the relevant On-Shore Power (OPS) supply infrastructure and is referred to in the Call texts as “related necessary electricity grid connections inside the port area”.

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.

Yes. As indicated in the Call text Article 6, to be eligible, applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must, in particular, be established in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories) or in third countries associated to the CEF programmePDF. Ukraine and Moldova are part of this second category.

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.

Yes, such elements may be considered eligible for funding as mobile supply infrastructure provided that the ownership of the swappable tanks remains with the fuel supplier and not with each and every shipowners.

Yes, as long as it is demonstrated in the application that the main purpose is to supply fuel to maritime and inland waterway vessels and that the supply of ammonia/methanol for non-transport use will remain ancillary. This can be assumed, if the supply to non-transport users does not exceed 20% of the yearly supply.

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.

To be eligible for funding, the electrification of airport ground operations shall address either the electricity supply to stationary aircraft or all supply facilities for ground operation vehicles operating on runways, taxiways and apron.

Electricity infrastructure for ground operations may be eligible to supply the following non-exhaustive list of services:

• Service to aircraft: catering trucks, water trucks, lavatory service vehicles, refuelling vehicles, ground power vehicles
• Luggage & cargo handling: luggage handling vehicles, belt loaders, container loaders, air cargo handling vehicles
• Passenger service: apron buses, platform stairs, stair trucks
• Ramp service: aircraft repositioning, pushback and aircraft tugs
• Other: maintenance platforms, fire service vehicles, de-icing vehicles

Vehicles and ATM related equipment are not eligible for funding.

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.

No, hydrogen liquefactors are not eligible.

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.

The AFIF call text does not specify a specific power capacity of charging installation for vessels. All infrastructure should be accessible to all operators in a non-discriminatory manner.

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.

For the electrification of bus depots all the necessary electrical components within the depot may be considered eligible. This includes in particular, on top of the chargers and/or pantographs, the cabling and related civil works, transformers, upgrade of electrical power including the connection of additional power distribution equipment (medium and low voltage), sub-stations, control and monitoring systems (SCADA, Energy Management) and safety equipment.

No.

Tube trailers used to transport the storage cylinders from the electrolyser to the HRS are not eligible under AFIF calls. However, if the mobile hydrogen storage cylinders are necessary for the daily functioning of the HRS, being connected to it as a mobile storage unit, then it can be considered as part of the infrastructure and at least one mobile storage unit may be eligible.

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.

No. Recharging infrastructure in marinas is not eligible.

Yes, both fixed and mobile hydrogen refueling infrastructures located in TEN-T inland waterway and maritime ports are eligible for funding.

Yes, the electric grid connection outside of the TEN-T inland waterway and maritime ports is eligible for funding as a synergetic element. Note that the cost of the synergetic element must not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs of the project and must be presented as a separate cost category of the budget table.

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.

As indicated in the Call text Article 6, to be eligible applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must, in particular, be established in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories) or in third countries associated to the CEF programme.

The list of third countries associated to the CEF programme is available list-3rd-country-participation_cef_en.pdfPDF.

Other entities than associated countries may participate in consortium roles, such as associated partners (i.e. partner organisations which participate in the action but without the right to get grant money). They participate without funding and therefore do not need to be validated.

For information on the participation of third countries not associated to the CEF programme, please refer to this FAQ.

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).

Yes. As indicated in the Call text, the transition of port operations from fossil fuels to alternative fuels supply infrastructure is eligible. Short Sea Shipping and inland waterway vessels, port operation vessels and mobile or fixed transshipment equipment, may be eligible with a limited eligibility of costs and only in connection with an infrastructure project. This may include for example fixed quay cranes, rubber-tyred gantry cranes, reach stackers, forklifts, tractors, etc.

No. Only bunkering infrastructure as defined in section 2 of the Call text is eligible. This includes not only shore-based refuelling stations but also waterborne equipment, including barges or bunkering vessels, and an initial number of vessels needed for the use of the supported refuelling infrastructure. See the Call text for the specific conditions of eligibility of such infrastructure.

Note that production facilities for ammonia and methanol are not eligible for funding.

Works related to power grid connection inside the airport area shall be limited to those strictly needed for the functioning of AFIF-related electric supply infrastructure.

Grid connection costs outside the airport area are only eligible as synergetic elements. Such costs shall not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs of the project.

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. Only the deployment of electrolysers will be considered eligible if based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) for electricity supply and a sustainable use of water resources for the production of green hydrogen for the purpose of transport. If the electrolyser is built on the same location that the HRS, the necessary connection to supply hydrogen to the HRS is considered as part of the production facility and eligible as a synergetic element.

Zero-emission transhipment equipment include equipment that is used for the performance of port services and operations. This includes equipment allowing transhipment of any types of load units, i.e. straddle carriers, reach stackers, specialised forklift, gantry cranes, rubber-tyred gantry cranes.

Note that such equipment must be fuelled with a zero-emission fuel, e.g. electricity, hydrogen. Eligible costs shall be limited to the difference in cost between a fossil fuel equipment and the zero-emission equipment.

The eligible costs for recharging points of minimum power output of 150 kW and/or 350 kW should be calculated so that the corresponding grant does not exceed the maximum amounts indicated in the Call text.

It is up to the applicant to choose how to present the budget calculations in the most comprehensive manner, e.g., by creating specific Work Packages for the capped amounts or by explaining in the narrative how budget calculations have been obtained. Note that it is important that costs are identifiable so that it is possible to verify that the grant amount requested for 150 and 350 kW have been capped.

AFIF is supporting the electrification of airport ground services and electricity supply to aircrafts, including related management systems. In association with this equipment, a project can include photovoltaic installation and battery storage system only as a synergetic element limited to 20% of the total budget of the application.

Yes, on-shore facilities to charge battery packs (battery swapping facilities) for waterborne transport are eligible. They will be considered in a similar way as On-shore Power System (OPS). The associated removable batteries will be eligible only if:

• They belong to the infrastructure owner (in the assets account).
• They are part of the propulsion system of the electric vessels constituting the initial number of vessels needed to kick-start the use of the recharging infrastructure.

No, hybrid propulsion systems are not eligible. Only alternative fuelled vessels and vehicles or port equipment are eligible under the AFIF calls.

Recharging points located in a TEN-T inland or maritime port may be eligible for funding under the co-funding rate category if they are used to supply port vehicles and equipment used for port services and operations to "electrify port operations". Charging points for external trucks, deployed within the port terminal premises, are not eligible as specified in the following Q&A 38917.

Production of renewable energy supplying recharging infrastructure in all modes of transport is eligible but only as a synergetic element.

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, there is neither daily production requirements nor power capacity requirements. However, it is expected that the electrolyser’s production is dedicated to supply the associated HRS network, dedicated to transport - this will have to be demonstrated in the application. Electrolysers of larger capacities supplying (also) other needs will not be considered for financing.

Note that the total costs of these synergetic elements shall not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs of the Action.

Yes. The applicant has to submit the environmental declaration signed by the relevant environmental authority to confirm the requirements, if any, in line with the applicable environmental legislation.

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’.

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.

No. Bunkering infrastructure is only eligible for those fuel types listed in the AFIF call.

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.

No. The AFIF is supporting the deployment of HRS irrespective of the source of hydrogen production. Note however that the overall environmental benefits of each project, therefore its contribution to the Green Deal objectives, will be taken into account in the evaluation giving a priority to the most sustainable projects.

In addition, if a hydrogen production facility is part of an application as a synergetic element, only the deployment of electrolysers based on Renewable Energy Sources and sustainable use of water resources for the production of green hydrogen may be considered eligible.

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.

To be eligible for funding a proposal must include at least 4 recharging points with a minimum power output of 1 MW each. In addition, these MW chargers can be combined with recharging points of a minimum power output of 350 kW or 150 kW within the same application. The total number of supported recharging points of 350 kW and 150 kW cannot exceed the number of supported recharging points with a minimum power output of 1 MW.

Regarding budget calculations, please see the following FAQ ec.europa.eu

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.

Yes, the infrastructure should be accessible to all operators in a non-discriminatory manner.

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.

The hydrogen produced by an electrolyser shall comply with the rules for the production of renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1184 of 10 February (ref. footnote n.9 of the Call text), once the production facility becomes operational.

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.

No. The call text refers to “publicly accessible recharging pools dedicated to heavy-duty vehicles and equipped with at least 4 recharging points having each a minimum power output of 1 MW”. In this configuration, each recharging point with a power capacity of 1 MW must have the technical capacity to deliver this power, but it is not required to deliver this maximum power when the recharging points are used in parallel. Operators may have a smart power management system to allocate the power to all users.

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).