More than 300 applications for subsidies for alternatively fueled vehicles were received by the Environment protection and energy efficiency fund, they are expecting an even larger number of applicants in 2016.
By the end of 2020, fact electric charging stations will be available on Croatian highways every 50 km. This was said at the start of a public discussion on the proposed draft of the Deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure Croatia. Public debate about this particular draft started on May 6, 2016, and will continue over the next two weeks.
Head of the working group, Romana Palčić, stated that the alternative fuel market is still underdeveloped even in the European Union, where it currently takes up only 1% of the market.
According to the latest data provided by Promocija Plus, electric cars now make up for 0,2% of all cars sold in Croatia. According to Ms. Palčić, the main hurdle for the development of the alternative fuel market in Croatia is the high price of alternatively fueled vehicles.
The whole of the European Union, including Croatia, is working on a new Act relating to the construction of alternative fuels infrastructure. Suggested draft deals with setting measures to entice development of the alternative fuel market, determining minimal requirements for charging station infrastructure as well as their technical specifications.
Even though there are several types of alternative fuels, new draft and the Act itself will focus on three: electricity, hydrogen, and natural gas.
Charging station in Senj, Photo by Supercharge-me.de
By 2020, Croatia should have 164 charging stations, and that includes one on every 50 km on highways. the increased number of vehicles using alternative fuels during tourist season is also taken into account. It was also mentioned how vehicles using compressed natural gas also have a future while the infrastructure for hydrogen-powered vehicles is currently not being considered: “We don’t have a developed market for hydrogen-powered vehicles, We only have 6 hydrogen powered cars registered in Croatia and not a single supply station while in neighbouring Slovenia they don’t have any hydrogen cars registered but they do have one supply station” Palčić stated.
As Palčić predicts, the Government should adopt the draft of the Act by June, then they will vote on the National policy framework regarding infrastructure development and the framework will be revised every three years.
The representative of the Environment protection and energy efficiency fund Filip Brkljača stated that it seems the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure is very skeptical when it comes to vehicles powered by alternative fuels adding that they are approaching the problem very lightly while letting things develop on their own instead of initiating them. He also added how the Croatian public is very interested in these types of vehicles since the Fund received 23 applications by Croatian citizens for subsidies for electric vehicles in 2014 while in 2015, the number of applications went up to 300.
"We expect the interest to be even greater in 2016, there’s no doubt about it, our phones are constantly ringing, people ae asking when the new tender will be published” Brkljača concluded.
