The European Union will go on to provide a complete financial support of EUR 188.8 million to 26 projects. The idea is to deliver a network of transportation that happens to be environmentally sustainable and is in line with the ambitious objective that is laid down by the EU Green Deal. The projects have been selected as per those submitted under calls for proposals that have been issued as per the Connecting Europe Facility programme, which is a funding programme that supports the transportation infrastructure of Europe.
As per the third cut-off date of the alternative fuel infrastructure facility call for proposals that was closed on November 10 last year, 26 projects were selected for a total EU grant worth EUR 188.8 million. The support, apparently, is coupled with an investment or loan facility via a financial institution.
The projects range from electric charging installations across the European TEN-T network of roads to the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations for cars, buses, and trucks, as well as the electrification of ground handling services across airports.
The call, apparently, remains open with further cut-off dates at regular intervals. The next cut-off date happens to be April 13 this year. Adina Valean, the European Commissioner for Transport, opines that the applications when it comes to AFIF investments continue to rise, illustrating the commitment of the transport industry to move towards sustainable solutions.
The EUR 189 million funding will go on to translate into 2000 charging points as well as some 63 hydrogen refuelling stations. Four projects shall support the electrification of ground-handling support services across the airports by way of electrifying ground-support equipment and deploying recharge infrastructure for service vehicles.
Paloma Aba Garrote, who happens to be the acting director of the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environmental Executive Agencies, says that the European Union continues to aid projects that aim at boosting the shift towards less polluting transport options. Such projects, as per her, aim to achieve the EU climate target while also fostering economic growth and boosting job creation.
The European Union’s financial aid comes in the form of grants with varied co-financing rates or even unit contributions depending on whether the project happens to be located in a country that is eligible for Cohesion Fund support or not. According to CEF Transport Programme, across 2021–2027, EUR 25.8 billion will be available in terms of grants so as to co-fund the TEN-T projects in the European Member States. Ever since 2014, the CEF has supported more than 1200 projects that total around EUR 29 billion across the transport vertical.
Following the nod by the EU member states to the selected projects on April 13, the commission will go on to adopt a formal financing decision in the weeks to come. The Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency has already begun the preparation for granting agreements with the beneficiaries of successful projects. However, all the results are provisional and shall only become definitive as and when the European Commission adopts the award decision.
