Through different initiatives, the European Commission is providing guidance and best practice examples to public authorities and other relevant stakeholders on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure and vehicles. Different areas are and will be covered, revised, and updated.

In particular, the main recommendations, reports and handbooks prepared by the Sustainable Transport Forum (STF) are made available in this section. The STF was set up to assist the Commission in implementing the Union’s activities and programmes aimed at fostering the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure to contribute to the European Union energy and climate goals. It serves as a platform for structural dialogue, exchange of technical knowledge, cooperation and coordination between Union Member States and relevant public and private stakeholders. More information on the STF can be found here.

Another important source of guidance is the The Urban Mobility Observatory ELTIS and their mobility plans platform. Current and revised guidelines related to electromobility will be also made available here. For more information on ELTIS and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans you can visit: https://www.eltis.org/mobility-plans.

The EAFO consortium supports STF by providing assistance in delivering recommendations across various topics, related to alternative fuel infrastructure. 

STF sub-groups are important facilitators of delivering policy recommendations to public authorities. In accordance with Article 5(2) of the Decision establishing the STF and in accordance with Article 8 of the Decision renewing the STF, DG MOVE may set up sub-groups for the purpose of examining specific questions on the basis of terms of reference defined by DG MOVE. Sub-groups report to the STF plenary. They must be dissolved as soon as their mandate is fulfilled.

TF1: Best practices guide for permitting & grid connection procedures

The objective of the work developed under this task force is the development of a best practice guide for permitting and grid connection procedures. The first step to develop this guide aims to identify, map, and assess the problems encountered in the EU by project developers in the administrative process of applying for a building or operating (environmental) permit, or in the process of applying to the local DSO or TSO for a grid connection for that same infrastructure.

For this, an assessment survey was sent to both Public Authorities and Market Players focusing on gathering information about

1. Permitting procedures
2. Grid connection procedures

With this survey, it will be possible to identify specific problems, bottlenecks, or limitations related to those processes, and obtain the point of view of both the Local Authorities and the Charging Point Operators.

TF2: Development of templates, tools, and standard contract provision

The objective of the work developed under this Task force is to create a joint fundament of knowledge, thereby supporting public governments and accelerating the rollout of recharging infrastructure. To reach this goal, a set of different templates, standard contract provisions, and other “off the shelf” solutions will be developed for use by public authorities in their public procurement, concession, license and/or grant award procedures for electric recharging infrastructure.

TF3: Recommendations for recharging infrastructure roll-out for specialised and captive fleets

The objective of the work developed under this Task force is to provide a set of recommendations focused on the deployment of recharging infrastructure for specialised and captive fleets such as taxis, (urban) logistics, and shared fleets.

Captive fleets include:

• Fleet vehicles with predictable driving and refueling patterns
• Vehicles making regular visits to or overnight parking at a depot

Specialised and Captive fleets are centrally operated fleets such as:

• Taxi-fleets /ride-hailing fleets (e.g. Uber)
• Shared vehicle fleets (e.g. GreenMobility, Cambio, Zipcar)
• Urban delivery/utility fleets (e.g. DHL, Bpost, PicNic)
• Urban duty logistics such as special corporate fleets from big operators

TF4: Revision of SUMP electrification Guide

The inclusion of e-mobility in Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans is a fast-developing field that requires an update, since the latest ELTIS Guidelines for SUMP date back to 2019. This task force will develop its work considering new important references. The SUMP guide electrification update will develop under a co-creation process, to reflect local PA planner’s needs, including front-runner's experience but also Local Authorities in the process of SUMP electrification development and less advanced LA who still need to develop a SUMP guide. TF4 work will integrate other relevant STF-PA information as well as information already available from other sources.

TF5: Development of a guide on accessibility of electric recharging infrastructure

The aim of the work developed under this Task force is to support the Public authority’s goals to implement EV charging infrastructure that allows for seamless mobility and accessibility for all users, including persons with disabilities and the elderly. There are still challenges to resolve, with particular emphasis on the fact that the deployment of the recharging infrastructure is happening now, and these concerns aren’t sufficiently addressed.

The work developed under this TF will consider three main levels:

1. Hardware: pole/charging station (development of EU standards)
2. Associated parking spaces and surrounding environment (benchmarking of accessibility norms/regulations in different EU Member States or component authorities)
3. Distribution/location of accessible recharging poles/stations & parking spaces (exchange of experience and good practices with other local stakeholders)