The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) is an EU-wide law that aims to ensure there is sufficient EV charging infrastructure at key locations throughout the continent. AFIR also mandates full price transparency, common minimum payment options and clear end user information for public charge points across the EU.
Overview of the new requirements
Under the regulation, a number of new requirements for EV charging businesses will come into effect from 13 April 2024:
Ad hoc usage
All public charging points, deployed from 13 April 2024, must offer the ability to pay for sessions anonymously (without registration or entering into a contract) and the ad hoc prices should be provided or displayed at the public charging station.
Transparent pricing
Ad hoc pricing charged by charge point operators (CPOs) must be reasonable and non-discriminatory, and also easy to find and compare. Such prices also need to be transparent, meaning that all price components need to be clearly provided to the end user before they initiate a charge session.
With regard to allowed price components, this is restricted for public charge points (>50kWh, such as DC charge points) to a price per kWh and optionally a price per minute as an occupancy fee. Such restrictions don’t apply to ad hoc pricing for public charge points (<50kWh); however the relevant price components must be presented in the following order: per kWh, minute, session, and any other price component that applies.
Mobility Service Providers (MSPs) are also required to charge transparent, ‘reasonable’ and non-discriminatory prices, and are not allowed to apply any extra charges for cross-border roaming.
Contactless and online payments
The regulation requires public charging stations with a power output of 50kW or more (DC stations) that are deployed from 13 April 2024 to enable electronic payments through a payment card reader (such as a payment terminal or a device with contactless payment functionality). Operators of public charge points with a power output of less than 50kW (usually AC stations) that are deployed from 13 April 2024 can also choose to enable online payments (such as via QR code) instead of or in addition to enabling payment through a payment card reader.
Smart charging
Public charge points need to be capable of smart charging and digitally connected, so that they can communicate with the grid, send and receive information and be operated remotely.
Longer-term mandates
Along with the requirements coming into force in April, there are a number of obligations with a longer timeframe for compliance.
From 1 Jan 2027 the ad hoc charging obligation is applicable to all public charge points of 50 kW or more, regardless of when they were deployed.
Each EU member state also has obligations with regards to the need for sufficient charging infrastructure. From 2025 fast EV charging stations (minimum 150kW) must be installed every 60 km along the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network.
Charging stations for heavy-duty vehicles (minimum 350 kW) need to be deployed every 60 km along the TEN-T core network, and every 100 km on the wider TEN-T comprehensive network.
For details of all AFIR requirements read the regulations in full here.
Monitoring and enforcement
Each EU member state is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the requirements set out in AFIR. In most member states enforcement will be carried out via already existing ‘open norms’, under criminal or administrative law, possibly leading to fines in case of any violations. The range of fines will vary per member state.
How Road can help charge point owners
We are helping charge point operators across the EU comply with AFIR legislation and provide drivers with a seamless EV charging payments experience.
We offer two AFIR-compliant, easy-to-use solutions for CPO customers with publicly accessible charge points.
Charge point operators in the UK are not subject to AFIR. These UK charge point operators are governed by the UK’s Public Charge Point Regulations 2023. Our solutions are also suitable for charge point operators in the UK to comply with their obligations on payments under this regulation.
Tap to Pay is Road’s industry-leading, full service payment solution, which simplifies the entire EV charging and card payment process from tap to settlement. Tap to Pay is a fully integrated payment solution that covers all major credit and debit payment methods, helping to reduce complexity for charge point operators and giving EV drivers easy payment options. Charge point operators don’t have to deal with negotiating or setting up the payment solutions infrastructure themselves, as we take care of it all as part of our solution.
Scan to Pay is our simple, frictionless payment solution for AC charging stations with a rating of less than 50kW. Drivers are linked via QR code to a dynamic landing page that displays all tariffs per kWh and other price components in the compliant order. Scan to Pay allows drivers to start, stop and pay for charging sessions anonymously at public charge points using their preferred payment method. All major payment methods are accepted including Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
Our platform is designed to manage everything related to electric driving, from transparent tariffs to world-class 24/7 customer support. Contact us to find out how our payment solutions can help your business comply with AFIR requirements.
