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EU to invest nearly €700mn in sustainable and innovative transport

The European Commission (EC) is proposing to invest nearly €700mn in 49 key projects to develop sustainable and innovative transport infrastructure in Europe, across all transport modes. Selected projects will provide infrastructure enabling greater use of alternative fuels and electric cars, modernise Europe’s air traffic management, and further develop waterborne and rail transport.

The funds will be made available through the EC’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) initiative. According to EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bul: ‘The projects are concentrated on the strategic sections of Europe’s transport network to ensure the highest EU added-value and impact. This will allow us to further accelerate our transition to low emission mobility across Europe, and firmly deliver on the EU’s agenda for jobs and growth. We expect it to unlock a total of €2.4bn of public and private co-financing.’

The largest part of the funding will be devoted to modernising European air traffic management (ATM – €290.3mn), developing innovative projects and new technologies for transport (€209.5mn), as well as upgrading the railway network, maritime connections, and ports and inland waterways (€103.6mn). In supporting the selected projects, the Commission is firmly delivering on the objectives outlined in its Clean Mobility package.

Over €250mn of CEF funding will be invested in 26 projects dedicated to developing new technologies in transport notably promoting alternative fuels, including:

  • Greening the maritime transport link between Swinoujscie port in Poland and Ystad port in Sweden.
  • Deploying hydrogen public transport infrastructure in Denmark, the UK and Latvia.
  • Building a network of bio-liquefied natural gas stations on roads connecting southern Spain and eastern Poland, via France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
  • Developing zero-emission public transport services for Amsterdam airport, as well as electrifying urban and regional bus routes in Croatia, Italy, Slovenia and Slovakia.


The selected projects will also contribute to the establishment of a ‘single European sky’ via modernising European air traffic management in 23 EU Member States and Serbia, the upgrading of the Ampsin-Neuville lock complex on the Middle Meuse river in Belgium, and the upgrading of the maritime ports of HaminaKotka and Leixões.

An additional €450mn is to be made available to finance alternative fuel infrastructure through the InnovFin Energy Demo Projects (EDP) and CEF Debt Instrument, which are managed by the European Investment Bank.

For more details, visit
https://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/infrastructure/news/2018-10-01-cef_it

News Item details


Journal title: Petroleum Review

Keywords: Energy

Countries: Europe -

Subjects: Aviation, Road transport, Rail transport, Marine transportation, Transport, Alternative fuels

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