AFIR regulation: what CPOs need to know in 2026

The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) has applied since 13 April 2024. The title of many guides says 2025, but the regulation does not start in 2025: only some of its deadlines fall in 2025, 2026 and 2027. For a charge point operator (CPO), the useful question is which rules bind you directly and which are targets for Member States.

A regulation, not a directive

AFIR is Regulation (EU) 2023/1804. It is binding in its entirety and directly applicable, so there is no national transposition to wait for. It repealed the earlier directive (2014/94/EU) with effect from 13 April 2024.

Deployment targets: mostly addressed to Member States

The fleet-based targets in Article 3 are obligations on Member States, not on operators. They require at least 1.3 kW of public power per registered battery-electric light-duty vehicle and 0.80 kW per plug-in hybrid, measured at the end of each year from 2024.

Along the TEN-T network, the text sets minimums per recharging pool, meaning one or more stations on a given site:

Core network, light-duty vehicles: pools at most 60 km apart in each direction. By 31 December 2025, each pool offers at least 400 kW and at least one 150 kW point. By 31 December 2027, at least 600 kW and at least two 150 kW points.

Comprehensive network: from 2027, at least 300 kW with one 150 kW point on at least half of the network length, extended to the whole network by 2030. By 2035, 600 kW with two 150 kW points.

Heavy-duty vehicles (Article 4): from 1 400 kW per pool with a 350 kW point at the end of 2025 on part of the network, rising to 3 600 kW on the core network by 2030.

These are deployment thresholds that Member States must secure. They are not a per-station obligation for every operator. Note also that 1.3 is a figure in kW per vehicle, not in MW per pool.

Payment and prices: what applies to your points

Article 5 is the part that lands on operators.

Ad hoc payment: accessible public points must allow charging without a contract. For points deployed from 13 April 2024, payment is by card reader, a contactless device reading at least payment cards, or, below 50 kW only, a device with an internet connection such as a QR code.

From 1 January 2027: all public points of 50 kW or more on the TEN-T network or on a secure parking area, including points deployed before April 2024, must offer a card reader or contactless option. A QR code alone no longer suffices for them. Free points are excluded.

Price display: from 50 kW, the ad hoc price is per kWh of electricity delivered, with an optional occupation fee per minute, both shown before the session starts. Below 50 kW, price components follow a set order: per kWh, per minute, per session, other.

Non-discrimination: prices must be reasonable, comparable, transparent and non-discriminatory, with differences allowed if proportionate and justified.

Connectivity, smart charging and data

Since 14 October 2024, public points must be digitally connected: able to exchange information in real time and to be monitored and controlled remotely. Public points built after 13 April 2024, or renovated after 14 October 2024, must be capable of smart charging, meaning the charging current can be adjusted in real time from information received electronically. Public DC points needed a fixed cable by 14 April 2025.

From 14 April 2025, operators must also make static and dynamic data available free of charge, including operational status, availability and ad hoc price, through an API declared to the national access point. The detail is in our article on AFIR data transparency.

What the text does not say

No protocol is named. OCPP and OCPI do not appear in the regulation or in the two implementing and delegated acts read for this article. Remote control and connectivity are required; the protocol is your choice.

No uptime figure. The text sets no availability rate and no mandatory reliability report for operators. The annual reporting in Article 18 is the Member States' reporting. Only a recital mentions uptime as desirable.

ISO 15118 is required, but through a delegated act. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/656 requires ISO 15118-1 to -5 for public points installed or renovated from 8 January 2026, and ISO 15118-20 from 1 January 2027.

What to check this week

List your public points by power and by date of installation or renovation. Flag every point of 50 kW or more on a TEN-T corridor that still relies on a QR code before 1 January 2027. Confirm that each point is remotely controllable and publishes status and price data. GFO Omni is a CSMS that supervises charge points over OCPP 1.6, 2.0.1 and 2.1.