Croatia to invest EUR 200 million in chargers for electric vehicles

Investments in chargers for electric vehicles in Croatia could reach EUR 200 million, according to Dino Novosel, president of the newly established group of operators of electric vehicle charging networks within the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK).

The European Union’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) entered into force on April 13, introducing numerous obligations for Croatia.

According to HGK, the new legislation will remain in force until the share of electric vehicles in the EU reaches 15%, translating to about 200,000 vehicles for Croatia.

The regulation obligates member states to provide EV chargers for private electric vehicles on all main roads every 60 kilometers by 2025, and for heavy vehicles by 2030.

Croatia needs to facilitate the installation of additional EV chargers with a total capacity of 100 MW to 150 MW by 2030

AFIR targets the installation of EV chargers for light vehicles on at least 50% of the roads connected to the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) by the end of 2027 and on all of them by the end of the decade. For Croatia it means that by 2030 it must facilitate the installation of EV chargers of 100 MW to 150 MW more in total capacity to meet the requirements. The current level is around 20 MW.

According to Dino Novosel, the establishment of the group of operators of networks of EV charging stations comes at a time when Croatia has ambitious goals for critical infrastructure for charging EVs.

The investments will contribute to the achievement of Croatia’s goal of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in transport

The investments driven by the AFIR regulation are estimated at EUR 200 million until 2030, he said. They would contribute to increasing the share of renewable energy sources in transport from the existing 3% to the binding target of at least 21%.

On the path toward the goal, the group, which brought together industrial stakeholders, will systematically work on removing regulatory, technical and operational obstacles and shaping a positive investment climate in cooperation with other key stakeholders in the country, Novosel stressed.

The share of renewable energy sources in transport at the EU level was 9.6% in 2022. The EU has set a target of 29% for 2030.