This month we include a selection of short articles focusing on how inland waterways (IWW) transport can help decarbonise the transport sector.
TRIMIS
Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System
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This month we include a selection of short articles focusing on how inland waterways (IWW) transport can help decarbonise the transport sector.
On 8 March 2021, the European Commission published a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFID). The report is accompanied by a Staff Working Document on the Detailed Assessment of the Member States Implementation Reports on the National Policy Frameworks for the development of the market as regards alternative fuels in the transport sector and the deployment of the relevant infrastructure.
This report presents the results of the assessment of action taken by Member States in the implementation of the AFID and the development of markets for alternative fuels and alternative fuels infrastructure in the Union. The Commission has made an in-depth assessment of the national implementation reports as received from the Member States under this Directive. The Commission has also carried out an external support study in the context of the ongoing evaluation of that Directive. Moreover, the Commission has updated its report on the state of art on alternative fuels transport systems in the EU . These assessments are published alongside this report.
The analysis shows the importance of the AFID in triggering the development of policies and measures for roll-out of alternative fuels infrastructure in Member States, by transposing the Directive into National Policy Frameworks (NPFs). With differences across Member States, those policy frameworks have started to help building a long-term forward-looking perspective on infrastructure for electricity, natural gas and hydrogen until 2030.
The Directive has had a positive impact on the uptake of alternatively fuelled vehicles and their infrastructure. The Commission’s services analysis shows that the markets would have been less developed in a scenario without the Directive. However, the shortcomings of the current policy framework are also clearly visible: as there is no detailed and binding methodology for Member States to calculate targets and adopt measures, the level of ambition in target setting and supporting policies in place varies greatly between Member States. For example, the share projected by Member States for electric cars in the total car fleet for 2030 varies between less than 1% and more than 40%. The corresponding infrastructure targets reflect the different level of ambition, meaning that the planned deployment of infrastructure varies greatly between Member States.
The current infrastructure deployment level is sufficient to serve the rather low number of alternatively fuelled vehicles currently on the road, the two being correlated. However, a comprehensive and complete network of alternative fuels infrastructure does not exist across the Union. For example in the area of electric recharging, large parts of the TEN-T core network do not have recharging points installed every 60 km as recommended. It is therefore unlikely that under the current legislative framework the needed network would develop across Europe in the coming years even if all Member States attained their targets. This is equally true for other alternative fuels infrastructure, especially for waterborne transport.
The Commission has proposed to reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emission by 2030 by at least 55% compared to the previous 40% reduction target. This has a relevant impact on the required uptake of sustainable alternative fuels, vehicles and infrastructure. In order to achieve these ambitious targets, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy notes the need for significantly accelerating the uptake of zero-emission vehicles and the related infrastructure in all market segments of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. Efforts will need to be considerably higher than the efforts reported by Member States under the Directive. This does not only relate to road transport but equally and particularly to other transport modes such as waterborne transport and aviation. Uptake of sustainable alternative fuels and electricity supply for ships at berth and stationary aircraft has to be accelerated.
While technical specifications developed under the Directive have proven to be highly relevant, new needs for technical specifications under the Directive have emerged. These concern particularly the interoperability and transparent exchange of information among the different players within the electric vehicle charging ecosystem. Standards for recharging heavy-duty vehicles and refuelling liquid hydrogen are required. In addition, maritime transport and inland navigation will also benefit from further common technical specifications to facilitate and consolidate the entry on the market of alternative fuels, especially in relation to fuel supply for electricity and hydrogen.
From a consumer perspective, using alternative fuels infrastructure needs to be as easy as the use of conventional refuelling infrastructure. This requires that information on the location as well as prices to be charged are available and that the payment is seamless. The current policy framework has shortcomings and consumers can face problems particularly when travelling across borders.
Finally, the cost-efficient integration of an increased number of electric vehicles in the electricity system must be ensured. To avoid grid congestion and to limit costly investments into grid infrastructure smart charging of electric vehicles is key. A smart integration of electric vehicles and bi-directional charging will also provide flexibility for the overall management of the energy system and thus help to integrate increased shares of variable renewable energy production. While the Electricity Directive and the Electricity Regulation adopted in 2019 provide the legislative framework on the electricity market side, additional requirements concerning the recharging point and the communication between the recharging point and the vehicle might be required to fully enable smart and bi-directional charging.
In addition, during the transition towards alternative fuels and rather limited uptake of alternative vehicles, investments in infrastructure may not be profitable. This is particularly the case for locations with low demand and a more difficult business case, for example in rural areas or areas with little vehicle uptake. In addition, the roll-out of publically available fast recharging points and of hydrogen stations alongside the TEN-T core and comprehensive network require further support. Public financing shall be focused on those parts of the network with pertinent gaps and difficult investment conditions to support the overall ambition of having at least 1 million publicly accessible recharging and refuelling points deployed by 2025.
Sufficient alternative fuels infrastructure provides the backbone for the successful transition to low- and finally zero-emission mobility. It requires a strengthening of the current policy framework at EU level to achieve the increased climate ambition of the European Green Deal and the corresponding policy agenda as outlined in the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. The Commission is in the process of carrying out an Impact Assessment for the revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive and will duly consider the findings of this report as well as those of the ongoing evaluation of the Directive in this context. The Commission is also working on a Strategic Rollout Action Plan to establish flanking measures for accelerating the roll-out of alternative fuels infrastructure.
The Spanish Railways Technological Platform PTFE (www.ptferroviaria.es) has published a compilation of Spanish National Research and Innovation Railway Projects financed under public competitive calls from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. The PTFE has elaborated three documents gathering information for the period 2012-2020 for each one of the three funding programmes:
- RETOS-COLABORACIÓN 2013 - 2019: 34 public-private collaborative projects with industrial leadership
- RETOS INVESTIGACIÓN – Proyectos I+D+i 2013 - 2019: 34 research and innovation projects promoted by Universities and Research Centres
- CDTI Railway Projects 2012-2020: 127 innovation and industrial development projects
These documents have been conceived as a tool for dissemination of Spanish Rail R&D and Innovation capacities and ongoing developments in the framework of national funding programmes. They will be continuously enlarged with the results of new calls and further projects.
For more information, do not hesitate to contact PTFE's Technical Secretariat (contact details at the documents).
This month, we highlight the European Commission's Joint Research Centre's ‘EU Transport Research & Innovation Status Assessment Report 2020', alongside the technical report ‘Sustainable use of Materials through Automotive Remanufacturing to boost resource efficiency in the road Transport system (SMART). Read more...
The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a second Important Project of Common European Interest (“IPCEI”) to support research and innovation in the battery value chain. The project, called “European Battery Innovation” was jointly prepared and notified by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
The twelve Member States will provide up to €2.9 billion in funding in the coming years. The public funding is expected to unlock an additional €9 billion in private investments, i.e. more than three times the public support. The project complements the first IPCEI in the battery value chain that the Commission approved in December 2019.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “For those massive innovation challenges for the European economy, the risks can be too big for just one Member State or one company to take alone. So, it makes good sense for European governments to come together to support industry in developing more innovative and sustainable batteries. Today's project is an example of how competition policy works hand in hand with innovation and competitiveness. By enabling breakthrough innovation while ensuring that limited public resources are used to crowd in private investment and that competition distortions are minimised. With significant support also comes responsibility: the public has to benefit from its investment, which is why companies receiving aid have to generate positive spillover effects across the EU.”
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, in charge of the European Battery Alliance, said: “Thanks to its focus on a next generation of batteries, this strong pan-European project will help revolutionise the battery market. It will also boost our strategic autonomy in a sector vital for Europe's green transition and long-term resilience. Some three years ago, the EU battery industry was hardly on the map. Today, Europe is a global battery hotspot. And by 2025, our actions under the European Battery Alliance will result in an industry robust to power at least six million electric cars each year. Our success lies in collaboration, with some 300 partnerships between industrial and scientific actors foreseen under this project alone.”
Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said: ‘“The batteries value chain plays a strategic role in meeting our ambitions in terms of clean mobility and energy storage. By establishing a complete, decarbonised and digital battery value chain in Europe, we can give our industry a competitive edge, create much needed jobs and reduce our unwanted dependencies on third countries - in short, make us more resilient. This new IPCEI proves that the European Battery Alliance, an important part of the EU industrial policy toolbox, is delivering.”
The project will cover the entire battery value chain from extraction of raw materials, design and manufacturing of battery cells and packs, and finally the recycling and disposal in a circular economy, with a strong focus on sustainability. It is expected to contribute to the development of a whole set of new technological breakthroughs, including different cell chemistries and novel production processes, and other innovations in the battery value chain, in addition to what will be achieved thanks to the first battery IPCEI.
Commission assessment
The Commission assessed the proposed project under EU State aid rules, more specifically its Communication on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI). Where private initiatives supporting breakthrough innovation fail to materialise because of the significant risks such projects entail, the IPCEI State aid Communication enables Member States to jointly fill the gap to overcome these market failures, while ensuring that the EU economy at large benefits and limiting potential distortions to competition.
The Commission has found that the proposed IPCEI fulfils the required conditions set out in its Communication. In particular, the Commission concluded that:
On this basis, the Commission concluded that the project is in line with EU State aid rules.
Funding, beneficiaries and amounts
The project will involve 42 direct participants, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups with activities in one or more Member States. The direct participants will closely cooperate with each other through nearly 300 collaborations envisaged, and with over 150 external partners, such as universities, research organisations and SMEs across Europe. The overall project is expected to be completed by 2028 (with differing timelines for each sub-project).
More information on the amount of aid to individual participants will be available in the public version of the Commission's decision once the Commission has agreed with Member States and third parties on any confidential business secrets that need to be removed.
Background
The Commission's approval of this project forms part of the context of the wider Commission efforts to support the development of an innovative and sustainable European battery industry. In 2017, the Commission launched the European Battery Alliance. In 2018, the Commission adopted the Strategic Action Plan for Batteries and has promoted a wide range of initiatives as part of the plan.
In view of the growing importance of batteries in a number of areas, including notably transport and energy, a safe, circular and sustainable battery value chain will be increasingly essential. Having batteries that are more sustainable throughout their life cycle is key to achieve our ambitious climate targets. This is also at the core of the Sustainable Batteries Regulation proposed by the Commission in December 2020.
Today's decision is the third research and innovation project based on the 2014 State aid Communication on Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), setting out criteria under which several Member States can support transnational projects of strategic significance for the EU under Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The Communication aims to encourage Member States to support highly innovative projects that make a clear contribution to economic growth, jobs and competitiveness.
The IPCEI Communication complements other State aid rules such as the General Block Exemption Regulation and the Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I) Framework, which allows supporting innovative projects whilst ensuring that potential competition distortions are limited. According to the 2019 State Aid Scoreboard, annual spending for R&D&I under the General Block Exemption Regulation continued to increase to reach about €10 billion in 2018.
The IPCEI Communication supports investments for R&D&I and first industrial deployment on condition that the projects receiving this funding are highly innovative and do not cover mass production or commercial activities. They also require extensive dissemination and spillover commitments of new knowledge throughout the EU and a detailed competition assessment to minimise any undue distortions in the internal market.
A broad range of State aid rules, including the IPCEI Communication, are currently being reviewed to ensure they fully contribute to the Commission's green and digital objectives, following an evaluation or ‘Fitness Check' completed in October 2020. A public consultation on a revised IPCEI Communication will be launched in the coming weeks.
The non-confidential version of the decision will be made available under the case numbers SA.55855 (Austria), SA.55840 (Belgium), SA.55844 (Croatia), SA.55846 (Finland), SA.55858 (France), SA.55831 (Germany), SA.56665 (Greece), SA.55813 (Italy), SA.55859 (Poland), SA.55819 (Slovakia), SA.55896 (Spain), and SA.55854 (Sweden) in the State Aid Register on the competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.
This month, we feature the latest JRC report on research and innovation in vehicle design and manufacturing in Europe alongside a selection of projects and forthcoming events. Read more here...
Today, the European Commission proposes to modernise EU legislation on batteries, delivering its first initiative among the actions announced in the new Circular Economy Action Plan. Batteries that are more sustainable throughout their life cycle are key for the goals of the European Green Deal and contribute to the zero pollution ambition set in it. They promote competitive sustainability and are necessary for green transport, clean energy and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The proposal addresses the social, economic and environmental issues related to all types of batteries.
Batteries placed on the EU market should become sustainable, high-performing and safe all along their entire life cycle. This means batteries that are produced with the lowest possible environmental impact, using materials obtained in full respect of human rights as well as social and ecological standards. Batteries have to be long-lasting and safe, and at the end of their life, they should be repurposed, remanufactured or recycled, feeding valuable materials back into the economy.
Promoting competitive sustainability in Europe
The Commission proposes mandatory requirements for all batteries (i.e. industrial, automotive, electric vehicle and portable) placed on the EU market. Requirements such as use of responsibly sourced materials with restricted use of hazardous substances, minimum content of recycled materials, carbon footprint, performance and durability and labelling, as well as meeting collection and recycling targets, are essential for the development of more sustainable and competitive battery industry across Europe and around the world.
Providing legal certainty will additionally help unlock large-scale investments and boost the production capacity for innovative and sustainable batteries in Europe and beyond to respond to the fast-growing market.
Minimising environmental impact of batteries
The measures that the Commission proposes will facilitate achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Better and more performant batteries will make a key contribution to the electrification of road transport, which will significantly reduce its emissions, increase the uptake of electric vehicles and facilitate a higher share of renewable sources in the EU energy mix.
With this proposal, the Commission also aims to boost the circular economy of the battery value chains and promote more efficient use of resources with the aim of minimising the environmental impact of batteries. From 1 July 2024, only rechargeable industrial and electric vehicles batteries for which a carbon footprint declaration has been established, can be placed on the market.
To close the loop and maintain valuable materials used in batteries for as long as possible in the European economy, the Commission proposes to establish new requirements and targets on the content of recycled materials and collection, treatment and recycling of batteries at the end-of-life part. This would make sure that industrial, automotive or electric vehicle batteries are not lost to the economy after their useful service life.
To significantly improve the collection and recycling of portable batteries, the current figure of 45% collection rate should rise to 65 % in 2025 and 70% in 2030 so that the materials of batteries we use at home are not lost for the economy. Other batteries – industrial, automotive or electric vehicle ones – have to be collected in full. All collected batteries have to be recycled and high levels of recovery have to be achieved, in particular of valuable materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel and lead.
The proposed regulation defines a framework that will facilitate the repurposing of batteries from electric vehicles so that they can have a second life, for example as stationary energy storage systems, or integration into electricity grids as energy resources.
The use of new IT technologies, notably the Battery Passport and interlinked data space will be key for safe data sharing, increasing transparency of the battery market and the traceability of large batteries throughout their life cycle. It will enable manufacturers to develop innovative products and services as part of the twin green and digital transition.
With its new battery sustainability standards, the Commission will also promote globally the green transition and establish a blueprint for further initiatives under its sustainable product policy.
Members of the College said:
Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said: "Clean energy is the key to European Green Deal, but our increasing reliance on batteries in, for example, transport should not harm the environment. The new batteries regulation will help reduce the environmental and social impact of all batteries throughout their life cycle. Today's proposal allows the EU to scale up the use and production of batteries in a safe, circular and healthy way".
Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations Maroš Šefčovič said: "The Commission puts forward a new future-proof regulatory framework on batteries to ensure that only the greenest, best performing and safest batteries make it onto the EU market. This ambitious framework on transparent and ethical sourcing of raw materials, carbon-footprint of batteries, and recycling is an essential element to achieve open strategic autonomy in this critical sector and accelerate our work under the European Battery Alliance."
Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said:”With this innovative EU proposal on sustainable batteries we are giving the first big push to the circular economy under our new Circular Economy Action Plan. Batteries are essential for crucial sectors of our economy and society such as mobility, energy and communications. This future-oriented legislative toolbox will upgrade the sustainability of batteries in each phase of their lifecycle. Batteries are full of valuable materials and we want to ensure that no battery is lost to waste. The sustainability of batteries has to grow hand in hand with their increasing numbers on the EU market.”
Commission for Internal Market Thierry Breton said: "Europe needs to increase its strategic capacity in new and enabling technologies, such as batteries, that are essential for our industrial competitiveness and to fulfil our green ambitions. With investment and the right policy incentives – including today's proposal for a new regulatory framework – we are helping establish the full batteries value chain in the EU: from raw materials and chemicals via electric mobility all the way to recycling.”
Background
Since 2006, batteries and waste batteries have been regulated at EU level under the Batteries Directive (2006/66/EC). A modernisation of the framework is necessary because of changed socioeconomic conditions, technological developments, markets, and battery uses.
Demand for batteries is increasing rapidly and is set to increase 14 fold by 2030. This is mostly driven by electric transport making this market an increasingly strategic one at the global level. Such global exponential growth in demand for batteries will lead to an equivalent increase in demand for raw materials, hence the need to minimise their environmental impact.
For More Information
Q&A on Sustainable Batteries proposal
Proposal for a Regulation on batteries and waste batteries
