As early as 7 January 2022 the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management will launch a call for applications under the priority programme 'Support for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure'. Thanks to the programme - as part of the electromobility development strategy set out by the government - a network of over 17,000 electric vehicle charging points and 20 hydrogen stations will be created across Poland. The programme's budget amounts to PLN 870 million.
Non-refundable subsidies for the construction of infrastructure will be available to local governments, companies, housing cooperatives and communities and individual farmers. The aim is to disseminate zero-emission cars in Poland, as well as industry and services, especially in sectors working towards electromobility, such as charger production, hydrogen production, IT, etc.

Poland currently has over 32,000 registered electric passenger cars, almost 1,500 electric vans and trucks, around 12,000 electric mopeds and motorbikes, and over 600 battery-powered buses
- enumerates the Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa.

 - However, these numbers will increase rapidly due to the development of the "My Electric" programme, which supports the purchase and leasing of zero-emission cars. Therefore, the Ministry sees the need for parallel development of charging infrastructure, which is reflected in the new support programme announced by the National Fund. The ecological and social effect of this project will improve the state of air throughout the country, and thus - the quality of life of Poles

- emphasises the head of the ministry.

The programme provides for co-financing of projects consisting in: creation of charging points with a capacity of not less than 22 kW, exclusively for own needs, which will not be used to provide a charging service (budget PLN 70 million), construction of charging stations with a capacity of not less than 22 kW, other than public charging stations (budget PLN 70 million), construction of public charging stations with a capacity of at least 50 kW or reconstruction of public charging stations, resulting in the increase in their capacity to at least 50 kW (budget PLN 630 million), as well as construction or reconstruction of public hydrogen stations (budget PLN 100 million). In total, 17 760 different types of charging points and stations for electric vehicles and 20 hydrogen filling stations are planned to be created or reconstructed under the programme.

The programme budget will amount to 870 million PLN, which will help to significantly increase the availability of chargers, also located in small and medium towns, for which special privileges have been provided. This should promote interest in electric vehicles

- notes Maciej Chorowski, President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

In parallel, the programme will support Polish industrial competences in the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles and their refuelling with hydrogen. The success of Polish companies in this segment of the electromobility market confirms that the National Fund's activities will strengthen their market position

- adds the head of NFOŚiGW.

So far in Poland we have about 1700 charging stations for electric vehicles, out of which only a little over 30 per cent are direct current (DC) charging points and almost 70 per cent are free alternating current (AC) chargers with power less than or equal to 22 kW - informs Artur Lorkowski, Deputy President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. - The NFOŚiGW's financial offer should increase the share of publicly available fast and high-powered chargers. The technical feasibility of this plan depends on the development of the electricity grid. Therefore, the National Fund will in parallel offer support to distribution network operators for investments in the construction of power lines and transformer stations, which are necessary for the construction of fast vehicle charging stations. For this purpose we will additionally allocate 1 billion PLN

- emphasises the deputy head of NFOŚiGW.

The development of distribution network will be realized through the priority program called "The development of electroenergetic infrastructure for the development of electric vehicles charging stations", which is addressed to the distribution system operators (DSO). The budget for this undertaking is PLN 1 billion, and the money (in the form of grants) will be used to build, expand and modernise approximately 4,000 km of power lines (overhead and underground) and create approximately 800 transformer-switching stations. The programme will be financed from the Modernisation Fund.

The first three calls, in individual segments of the priority programme "Support for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure", were announced on 29 November 2021. As of this date, full information on the conditions of support and procedures for applying for funding is available on the NFOŚiGW website.

Applications for co-financing under the announced three calls will be submitted from 7 January 2022 to 31 March 2022, but no longer than until the allocation is exhausted. At the initial stage, applications will be accepted on a continuous basis. In the event that the pool of money designated for the implementation of the programme runs out faster, before the planned date of completion of the call for proposals, appropriate information will be posted on the NFOŚiGW website.