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Electromobility is the best solution to achieve the climate and industrial ambition of the European Green Deal for transport. The Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy will present the European Commission’s new vision on mobility for the upcoming years and must thus set a long-term and ambitious policy framework and support the further electrification of all modes of transport. It needs particularly to support the roll-out of an accessible charging infrastructure network for all modes of transport. The urgent revision of the TEN-T guidelines and AFI Directive for road and rail must occur without any delay and will ensure the decarbonisation of both modes of transports. The revision of the AFI Directive must be ambitious and should clearly set minimum binding targets per the Member States and type of vehicles (LDVs and HDVs) for the deployment of charging infrastructure for low- and zero emission transport technologies in order to reach the 2050 climate neutrality objective.

Smart charging, and demand-side resources (i.e. vehicle to grid) will therefore constitute a key enabler to strengthen future synergies between transport, digital, and energy sectors, supporting Europe’s energy transition and fostering technological innovation. In line with the Energy System Integration Strategy, the Platform for Electro-Mobility recommends that EU and Member States’ policy-makers encourage and develop policies in support of these innovative system integration technologies to unlock all the benefits it can deliver to the electricity system and to society at large. The European Commission must also make sure that the synergies between energy and mobility are maximised with adequate financial cross-sectoral schemes. Funding and support for electrical upgrades (within buildings as well as grid connections) necessary to install charging equipment should also be made available to consumers, for instance through the upcoming Renovation Wave initiative, and namely through the revision of European Performance of Buildings Directive. Support for zero emission mobility will address the behavioural changes and answer the growing demand. Therefore, it would be important for the Commission to shape regulations to drive affordable supply of EV models and design mechanisms to enhance the consumers’ uptake of electro-mobility innovations and ensure social inclusion of lower income households. The corporate market is a clear lead market for electrification and the strategy should include mechanisms to require more and more fleets such as company cars, taxis and delivery vehicles to electrify and support companies towards this goal. It is also key to rebalance the modal shares with a view to encouraging a greater use of energy-efficient modes with the highest electrification rates such as rail as well as measures to ensure the modal shift to rail.

The Battery Directive will be key to create a sustainable environment and should provide conditions for the EU to become more competitive. The new strategy should also support innovative and competitive business models for the second life and recycling of EV batteries. The Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy should recognise the vital role of businesses in stimulating the EV market and providing EV charging to help make e-mobility a more affordable and viable option for citizens across the EU.

New mobility zero emission shared services alongside public transport (bus, rail, tram and metros) have a key part to play in the electrification of urban transport. In cities, the development of a sustainable and efficient urban freight, with a focus on zero emissions trucks as well as last-mile delivery services, are long-term solutions which need to be stimulated. Furthermore, taxation is a central driver for the decarbonisation of transport, and it is essential that the EU’s taxation rules are aligned with its decarbonisation commitment. Specifically, the revision of the Eurovignette and the Energy Taxation Directivesis a chance to build a future-proof taxation policy, adapting to a modern and decarbonised economy while accompanying the uptake of electromobility by integrating a CO2 component.

The Platform for Electro-mobility unites organisations from across civil society, industries, cities and transport modes. Its members are committed to promote electro-mobility and strive to collectively develop solutions to electrify European transport, and to promote those solutions to the EU institutions and Member States. The Platform is working to create a sustainable, multimodal transport system in which people and goods are predominantly moved across land in Europe using sustainable electricity. The aim of the Platform is to drive the development and implementation of sustainable European Union policies, programmes and initiatives to move people and goods by electricity https://www.platformelectromobility.eu.

To achieve carbon neutrality in the EU by 2050 and to reach the ambitious objective for the transport sector, which represents almost a quarter of EU CO₂ emissions, electromobility appears to be a key means of action. However, the existing regulatory framework regarding the electric fleet now seems outdated and needs revision.

In the Communication on the European Green Deal from 11^th December 2019, the Commission aims to “ramp-up the production and deployment of sustainable alternative transport fuels”. In this view, the revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive in 2021 needs to be ambitious to accelerate the deployment of zero- and low-emission infrastructure for road, inland waterway and maritime transport.

The Platform for Electromobility supports the Commission’s ambition and considers that strengthening the deployment of the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is not only an opportunity for the market but also a necessity to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

The event will look on how the current AFI Directive should be ambitiously revised to stimulate the development of electromobility and will address several key questions:

1. How can we ensure the effective deployment of charging infrastructure?
2. How should the scope of the current AFID evolve and be extended to foster the diversification of the fleet, incl. infrastructure for HDVs?
3. How should we accelerate and incentivise the deployment of low-carbon energy in transport?

 

PROGRAMME
The online event will run on 7 December 2020 from 14:00 to 16:00

 

• Welcome Address

By Arne Richter, the Chair of the Platform for Electromobility

• Opening Statement

By Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, Poland

• Keynote Speech

By Charlotte Nørlund-Matthiessen, Policy Assistant, Cabinet of Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean

• Panel discussion (Part 1): Fostering the deployment of charging infrastructure for light-duty vehicles

With Kai Tullius, Policy Officer at Unit B4 Sustainable & Intelligent Transport, DG Move, European Commission

and Julia Poliscanova, Senior Director Vehicles & Emobility, Transport&Environment

and Koen Noyens, Director of EU Policy at EVBox, for ChargeUp Europe

• Panel discussion (Part 2): Electrification of heavy-duty vehicles: addressing new charging applications

With Nikolaus Steininger, Senior Expert, Road Transport Unit, DG Clima, European Commission

and André Burdet, Vice-President Emobility Infrastructure Solutions, Hitachi ABB Power Grids

and Jos Dings, Director European Policy and Business Development, Tesla

• Closing speech

By Ismail Ertug, Member of European Parliament

 

With the Event moderator

Jayson Dong, Policy Manager, AVERE

 

Read the full paper here: https://www.platformelectromobility.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/European-Platform-for-electromobility’s-position-on-Green-Deal_FINAL-2.pdf

On 11 December 2019, the European Commission unveiled the EU strategy on climate neutral Europe, or the European Green Deal. The strategy promises to ensure that there are no net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, including increasing the EU’s 2030 GHG reduction target to at least 50%, and towards 55% in a responsible way. This clear shift towards sustainable and zero emissions technologies and economy-wide change is urgently needed if the EU is to meet the ambition of the Paris Agreement. Electro-mobility is already ubiquitous in our lives, from road vehicles to rail, as it is key to clean cities, affordable mobility of all Europeans and our industrial competitiveness.

In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Europe and confined Europeans to their homes, halting business activity and closing factories for months. As Europe slowly goes back to life, the deepest economic recession since the 1930s heralds a new normal. But the relevance of the Green Deal or the urgency of climate action have not disappeared – the twin challenges of economic and climate crises must be tackled together. Electrification is the strong basis to relaunch the economy and create futureproof jobs fast.

The Green Deal should be the basis of the economic recovery, starting with today. This policy paper outlines the Green Deal vision and green recovery recommendations of the European
Platform for Electro-mobility, representing almost 40 companies, associations and civil society across the electro-mobility ecosystem.

Notably:

• Electromobility remains the best solution to achieve the climate and industrial ambition of the European Green Deal for transport. This ecosystem is crucial to Europe’s economic
  relaunch in the aftermath of COVID-19 and will create over 1 million jobs in vehicle and rail manufacturing, charging infrastructure deployment and supply chains such as batteries by
  2030.
• The EU Recovery Package must support the e-mobility ecosystem, including the continued demand for zero emission vehicles, green investments into e-mobility supply chains and
  stimulus to accelerate the roll-out of charging infrastructure across Europe, notably workplace & residential schemes.
• The Commission should not delay the enabling policies key to e-mobility’s success, including the urgently needed review of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure law, the Sustainable Battery
  package and the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive.

Read our full paper here:

https://www.platformelectromobility.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Platform-recommendations-on-European-Battery-Package.pdf

Batteries will underpin Europe’s efforts to achieve a climate neutral economy and transport electrification. In the European Green Deal, the European Commission stated that a ‘90% reduction in transport emissions is needed by 2050 (compared to 1990)’ and that road transport needs to move to zero emissions beyond 2025 . In order to reach this objective, Europe will have to significantly increase the uptake of zero emission technologies, with a strong emphasis on battery electric vehicles.

This will require large amounts of batteries on the European market required to power the mass expected number of zero emission vehicles. Within this context, the Commission should therefore take stronger action and prioritise these zero emission technologies in the upcoming EU Industrial Strategy and the Circular Economy Action Plan planned for March 2020 to support the domestic production of sustainable batteries.

In preparation for the upcoming EU Battery Strategy expected for October 2020, the Commission must prioritise a circular economy approach when it comes to addressing the recycling of batteries. This includes ensuring the security of supply of raw materials, the reuse (where adequate) and recycling of batteries, as well as the high  environmental and social values in the manufacturing process as ways to promote a sustainable EU battery industry. Moreover, it will be extremely important to take note of the emerging new jobs related to the dismantling and recycling sector overall, as well as the processing and the reincorporation of used active materials within new batteries (i.e. when repurposing is economically proven to be better than recycling).

This is the only path to build a strong and competitive sustainable battery industry in Europe. Success in the European EV revolution is heavily  dependent on the success of Europe’s up and coming battery industry. Only with clear focus and political will, can Europe fully enhance the benefits of a home-grown industry, bringing economic value, jobs and growth as a part of the energy transition.