The road to installation 8,000 publicly accessible charging stations of electric vehicles (E/O), the action “Charging Everywhere” opens (Government Gazette 2966/B/05-05-2023), with a total budget of 80 million euros.

The platform of the action (https://fortizopantou.gov.gr) will be available for submitting applications from next Thursday, May 11, while it will operate during the day for informational purposes.

The main objective of the action is to create, in terms of healthy competition, a basic network of public electric vehicle charging throughout the country, covering both cities and the national road network, so that citizens can travel with their electric vehicle everywhere stress-free, economical and “green”.

The action will provide financial incentives for the supply, installation and connection to the electrical network of publicly accessible charging stations, powered by electricity produced from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in common areas of cities, in basic transport infrastructures (highways, airports, ports, railways stations) and in private areas with public access such as gas stations, car parks (parking businesses) and other points of interest (e.g. chain stores, etc.).

Beneficiaries of the action are Commercial Companies and Sole Proprietorships, Cooperatives, Partnerships, Consortiums engaged in commercial activity, Public and Municipal enterprises.

Specifically, the Beneficiaries are the entities that cover the cost of the investment for the development of the H/O charging stations and are divided into 2 Categories (I and II):

 Category I: Owners or those who have a legal right to exclusive use of the space where the station will be installed, and who contract with Operators of Charging Infrastructure (F.E.Y.F.H.O.) that have the responsibility of operation of the station.
 Category II: Charging Infrastructure Operators (F.E.Y.F.H.O.), which are contracted to grant full and unrestricted use of the station’s installation area.
The total budget of the action is 80 million euros, it comes from resources of the Recovery and Resilience Fund and is distributed, based on the location of the charging stations, as follows:
 Category A with a budget of 30 million euros (distributed by Region): Charging stations installed in OTA areas of responsibility. Grade A and are included in Electric Vehicle Charging Plans (S.F.H.O.), whose installed nominal power is greater than or equal to seven point four (7.4) kW.

Furthermore:

o The potential Beneficiaries of Category A are the Concessionaires F.E.Y.F.H.O. resulting from the conduct of open concession tenders (in accordance with the standard issues of par. 2 of no. 16 of Law 4710/2020) that have preceded for the development, management and operation of these publicly accessible stations.
o The aid rates for the beneficiaries of this category are determined based on the Concession Agreement signed between the Contracting Authority and the Concessionaire, while maximum aid rates are set, based on the population of each Municipality, which reach up to 70% for the smallest municipalities.
 Category B for charging stations installed in places with public access outside of Category A with a budget of 50 million euros and individual distribution as follows:
o Charging stations on the axes of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) such as motorways, main ports, airports and railway stations (p.e. 15 million euros)
o Charging stations in other areas such as gas stations, car stations (parking businesses), marinas, parking areas of buildings with public access, etc. (p.e. 35 million euros distributed per Region)

 In addition, the following applies to Category B stations:

o Eligible for receiving subsidies for this category are only direct current (DC) charging stations with a power greater than or equal to thirty (30) kW, with the exception of car stations (parking businesses) in which alternating current stations are also eligible current (AC) with a nominal power greater than or equal to seven point four (7.4) kW.
o The aid rates for this category depend on the place (Region / Regional Unit) in which the stations are installed, as well as on the size of the company (large/medium/small) that is a beneficiary of the action. These percentages range from 20% (e.g. a large company installing an E/O charging station in the Central Sector of Athens) to 65% (e.g. a small company installing an E/O charging station in Thrace). Also, a maximum amount of total eligible expenditure is set per charging station depending on the output power of the station and the way it is connected (supply size) to the electricity grid.
o E/O charging stations are considered eligible to receive category B subsidies only if they provide public access at least on a 12-hour basis daily and for five (5) days a week.

Regarding the number of applications for Category A, the potential beneficiary can submit as many applications as the Concessions for charging stations included in S.F.H.O. Municipalities in which it is a Concessionaire following a relevant tender. For Category B, up to six (6) applications can be made per Region (applications are made for charging stations within the same Region) and as long as the limitations set for the total amount of aid that each beneficiary is entitled to receive, which apply in single enterprise level.

The application information system will remain open until 31 December 2023, or until the available resources are exhausted.

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas, stated in this regard:

“With steady steps we continue to implement a dynamic plan for the transportation of zero gas emissions! E-mobility is one of the most essential components for achieving the goal of climate neutrality and the European Fit for 55% plan.

The Charging Everywhere program will add 80 million euros from the Resilience Recovery Fund to the policy pursued by the Greek government and the Ministry of Environment and Energy for electrification, subsidizing the installation of publicly accessible charging stations throughout the territory. A strong and sufficient electric car charging network is thus gradually created, and at the same time the confidence and safety of drivers is strengthened for the possibility of charging even over long distances and trips!

In addition, the private initiative is strengthened, which is developing dynamically, having opened a new market, constantly creating new jobs of high value.

We continue our effort with an eye on the first goal of 2030 and the drastic reduction of pollutants by 55%. The environment is culture and quality of life and it is the business of all of us.”

The General Secretary of Energy and Mineral Raw Materials, Alexandra Sdoukou, stated in this regard:

“Since 2019, when we took over the energy and environmental policy of our country, we have set as our goal the penetration of electric mobility into the mix of our daily commutes. The ultimate goal is to create conditions for sustainable, green cities, friendly to citizens and the environment.
We received electrification with just 700 electric cars on the road and less than 100 public charging stations.
Today our country is among the first countries in the European Union in the rate of development of electric mobility, we achieve penetration rates of electric vehicles of more than 10%, the publicly accessible charging stations exceed 3,200, and with these performances we consistently exceed our goals every year put in the National Energy and Climate Plan.

The Charge Everywhere program, utilizing resources from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, aims at the faster development of the necessary charging infrastructure throughout the country.

With 80 million euros and a conditional subsidy of up to 70%, we aim to install an additional 8,000 charging points throughout the territory, thus creating a dense network and giving impetus to professional and private drivers to choose the transition to electric mobility .
We envision a Greece that is a model in transport, a Greece with sustainable and citizen-friendly cities, a green future that we must create and leave a legacy to the next generations!”