While driving an EV, you’ve surely experienced charging your car in a rush and are willing to process it as fast as possible – just charge, pay with your card as you would in any coffee shop, and go.
But, wait, you have to open the app, enter your email and password, start the charging process, and refill the app wallet before the charging session… and, what a surprise — way not always — you could see prices for charging before the session starts. Not a pleasant surprise when the sum taken from your app wallet is higher than you expected.
Agree? Not a very customer-centric experience, indeed.
The European Commission has really good news for EV drivers!
And some regulations for the charge point operators.
AFIR changes make the EV drivers’ lives easier: they will be able to pay with their card at every public station, charge ad hoc or on a contract basis, and transparently see the price before the charging even starts.
So, what is AFIR, and where does it come from?
What is AFIR and its origin?
The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) is part of the Fit for 55 package. The package, which was presented by the European Commission on July 16, 2021, intended to allow the EU to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The Transport Council adopted a general approach to the proposal on 2 June 2022, and after negotiations with the European Parliament, the two co-legislators achieved a preliminary agreement on the rule on 28 March 2023.
The Council approved the text on 25 July 2023. The final act was signed on 13 September 2023.
AFIR Requirements for CPOs in 2024
According to AFIR, from April 13, 2024, charge point operators shall provide end users with the possibility to charge their electric vehicle on an ad hoc basis* at all public charging points operated by them.
*Ad hoc EV charging presupposes that every EV driver, no matter whether registered or not, should be able to start a charging session. This charging approach ensures that no one is ever prevented from using EV chargers due to a lack of an account with a specific provider.
EV customers who just wish to charge once in certain places (hotel, shopping centre, coffee shop visited while on vacation) or EV drivers who are hesitant to provide their data while travelling overseas may make use of public charging stations without needing an account with a particular provider.
No more price surprises
The price for the charging session should be transparent, known, and easily comparable to the EV driver before the start of the charging session.
Prices charged by operators of publicly accessible recharging points shall be reasonable,
easily and clearly comparable, transparent and non-discriminatory. Operators of publicly
accessible recharging points shall not discriminate, through the prices charged, between
end users and mobility service providers or between different mobility service providers.
However, the level of prices may be differentiated, but only if the differentiation is
proportionate and objectively justified. (AFIR Article 5, point 3, page 82)
The EV customer will be aware of the actual price of the charging session (the price will be displayed in such categories as per kWh, per minute, per session) before the charging session starts. Moreover, the price is expected to be easily comparable.
Price transparency is crucial to ensuring seamless and easy recharging and refuelling. Users of alternative fuel vehicles should be provided with accurate price information before the start of the recharging or refuelling session. The price should be communicated in a clearly structured manner to allow end users to identify the different price components charged by the operator when calculating the price of a recharging or refuelling session and to anticipate the total cost. (AFIR, page 25, point 33)
The applicable price components shall be presented in the following order:
– price per kWh;
– price per minute;
– price per session; and
– any other price component that applies. (AFIR, Article 5, point 4, page 82)
Ad hoc or contract-based charging availability
Offering ad hoc and/or subscription-based charging availability to the customers makes a CPO attractive for EV drivers because these ways of charging are not time-consuming, transparent, and simple.
According to AFIR, charge point operators shall enable the end users the right not to use automatic authentication and enable them to charge on an ad hoc basis or use another contract-based charging solution.
Operators of recharging points shall ensure that when they offer automatic authentication at a publicly accessible recharging point operated by them, end users always have the right not to make use of the automatic authentication and instead either recharge their vehicle on an ad hoc basis or to use another contract-based the recharging solution offered at that recharging point. (AFIR, Article 5, point 2, page 81)
Ad hoc payment availability
Can I, being an EV driver, pay for the charging session the way I pay for my ristretto at a coffee shop?
From April 13, 2024, every charge point operator of a public charge point shall provide availability of:
- payment card readers,
- devices with contactless functionality or
- payment via QR code (the last one for CPs with power output below 50 kW) (AFIR Article 5, page 80)
At Electriqua, we are ready for AFIR regulations as we support POS integration as well as local payment methods.
Additional fees to enhance charge point accessibility
Charge point accessibility is equally important for CPOs and EV drivers.
The idle fee (as one of the additional fees) is an incentive to maximise accessibility to the charger since it prevents vehicles from blocking charging stations for extended periods, allowing other users to access the station.
The idle fee reduces the time that an EV occupies a charging station and increases the turnover of EVs at the station. Meaning that more EV drivers can access the charging infrastructure within a given time frame.
AFIR opens up the possibility for CPOs to charge additional fees, such as parking fees or idle fees, to avoid blocking the charging point.
The operators of recharging stations should also be allowed to charge additional fees with a view, inter alia, to avoid blocking the recharging point from being used by other users, as long as those fees are clearly indicated and communicated before the start of the recharging session. If the price for the recharging on an ad hoc basis is provided on a dedicated webpage, it should be clearly provided on the same webpage as the one used for the payment of the session. (AFIR, page 25, point 33)
Electriqua offers such features as the Idle fee (parking fee) for the charge point operator’s ability to maximise accessibility and profit.
Fixed charging cable, and the cable easy to handle for every EV driver
This part of AFIR influences not only charge point operators but also hardware vendors, as the prerequisite for DC station installation is the necessity of the fixed charging cable integrated into the station, which is easily handled by every EV driver, even the one with limited strength.
According to AFIR, by April 14 2025
the operators of publicly accessible recharging points shall ensure that all direct current (DC) publicly accessible recharging points operated by them have a fixed recharging cable installed. (AFIR, Article 5, point 10, page 85)
recharging and refuelling cables is such that persons with limited strength can handle them with ease. (AFIR point 38, page 29)
Smart charging and digitally connected charging points
Charge point operators shall make sure that all public charging points built or repaired after April 13 2024, are capable of smart charging. By October 14 2024, the charge point operator should ensure that all public charging points are digitally-connected charging points.
… smart recharging points should comprise a set of physical attributes and technical specifications (hardware and software) that are necessary for sending and receiving data in real-time and enabling the flow of information between market actors that are dependent on those data for fully developing the recharging experience, including recharging point operators, mobility service providers, e-roaming platforms, distribution systems operators and, ultimately, end users. (AFIR point 28, page 21)
Electriqua offers charge point operators also such features as Charging spot reservation and Charge point availability forecast.
Check out all of our other features for charge point operators here.