Finland has been granted European Union funding to support the expansion of the electric vehicle charging network through Tesla's Finnish subsidiary, Roadster Finland Oy. The funding was awarded under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) transport program, a part of the European Union's investment in infrastructure.
Tesla's electric vehicle charging project aims to establish a comprehensive and continuously operational public electric vehicle charging station network on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
These publicly accessible charging points will be available for use by all electric vehicles. This multinational initiative aims to deploy a total of 6,458 charging points across 16 countries, including Finland.
In Finland, Tesla applied for CEF funding to establish a total of 32 charging locations, comprising 25 new sites and 7 existing ones that would be upgraded to support fast-charging access for all types of vehicles. These charging locations will be strategically situated in proximity to the TEN-T network and equipped with high-power charging units with a minimum capacity of 250 kW.
In total, Tesla has been granted up to €133.78 million in funding for the project, pending successful implementation. Finland's portion of the support amounts to €5.3 million.
The EU's investment encompasses the development of electric and gas distribution infrastructure, promoting the transition away from fossil fuels within the European-wide TEN-T network. The TEN-T initiative integrates railways, inland waterways, roads, and sea and air connections into a single transportation network.
The European Commission recently allocated a total of €352.1 million in funding during the fourth application round of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF). The decision to award these grants was made by the Transport Program Committee on September 8, 2023.
Looking ahead, the European Commission's fifth CEF funding call for alternative fuels infrastructure will close on November 10, 2023. This ongoing commitment to financing sustainable transportation infrastructure underscores the EU's dedication to promoting clean and efficient mobility solutions throughout the continent.
HT
