Croatia scrubs plan to co-finance installation of EV charging stations in 2018

Croatia’s Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund has closed its announcement it would co-finance the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 2018, providing no explanation.

“We hereby inform potential applicants that the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund will not accept expert proposals from August 6 concerning the public invitation for direct co-financing of the installation of EV charging stations in 2018,” the announcement dated August 7 reads.

According to the scrapped announcement, published on July 25, the fund had planned to approve co-financing of up to 40% of individual project costs, but no more than HRK 200,000 (around EUR 27,000) per user.

Croatia currently has around 230 EV charging stations.

The recent invitation to legal entities in the EU member state to apply for incentives for the purchase of EVs was temporarily closed after only 12 days, as the fund received applications for 200% of the total budget for the incentives.

Earlier in 2018, the fund approved EUR 1.62 million in subsidies to individuals to buy 133 electric cars, one plug-in car, 224 electric bikes, and 56 electric motorcycles.

The EU is expected to have nearly 3 million EVs by 2020, alongside 4.1 million EV charging stations. By 2025, member states are to adopt rules requiring the installation of a minimum number of charging points for all non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces, as well as at least one charging point for new and thoroughly renovated non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces.

Elsewhere in the region, a major state project is being developed to expand Serbia’s network of EV charging stations, according to a recent statement by Miloš Petrović, director of the Center for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (CEH-V), set up in cooperation with the University of Belgrade Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Serbia needs an estimated 150 EV charging stations, Petrović said. The EU candidate currently has only about 30 EV charging stations, five of which are fast charging stations along the highway routes, which can service up to three vehicles at a time, according to the center’s data.