AMF - Implementing Agreement on Advanced Motor Fuels

Drivers and Policies

In December 2016 the Austrian Council of Ministers approved the national strategy framework, Saubere Energie im Verkehr (Clean Energy in Transportation)[1]. With this national strategic framework, Austria fulfilled an obligation of Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and Council on the installation of an infrastructure for alternative fuels such as electricity, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and hydrogen (H₂).

Fuel, especially diesel, is less expensive in Austria than in most neighboring countries because of the relatively low mineral oil tax.

• For 1000 L gasoline containing a minimum of 4.6% biofuel and a maximum of 10 mg/kg sulphur, the tax is €482 ($587 US); the tax is €515 ($627 US) for gasoline with a lower share of biogeneous fuel.
• For 1000 L diesel containing a minimum of 6.6% biofuel and a maximum of 10 mg/kg sulphur, the tax is €397 ($483 US); the tax is €425 ($517 US) for diesel with a lower share of biogeneous substances.

Pure biofuels are exempt from the mineral oil tax. CNG is exempt from the mineral oil tax as well but is subject to the lower natural gas tax.

Starting in July 2008, the Normverbrauchsabgabe (NoVA) — a uniquely bonus/malus system for carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions — was introduced for taxing the acquisition of new vehicles. As of March 2014, new cars that emit less than 90 g of CO₂/km do not have to pay the NoVA. The excess amount (i.e., amount over 90 g) is divided by 5 and gives the NoVA tax rate. For vehicles with CO₂ emissions above 250 g/km, the NoVA increased by €20 ($24.34 US) per g of CO₂.

Austria is pushing strongly for eco-mobility. In November 2016 Austria presented a package of measures to support electro-mobility with €72 million ($88 million US), including incentives for buying electric vehicles, installation of charging stations, and a particular number plate for electric vehicles. In addition, states and communities offer many promotions such as purchase premiums.

Advanced Motor Fuels Statistics

Fleet Distribution and Number of Vehicles in Austria

As of December 31, 2017, 8.8 million people were living in Austria. According to Statistics Austria, a total of 7,559,192 vehicles (including 4,898,578 passenger cars) were registered in Austria as of December 31, 2017. Newly registered motor vehicles totaled 457,174 in 2017 (an increase of 6.2% in comparison to 2016). Newly registered passenger cars accounted for 353,320 vehicles — an increase of 7.2% compared to 2016.

An ongoing trend toward advanced propulsion systems can be seen in the number of vehicles with alternative drivetrains on Austrian roads in 2017 (Figure 1).

Fig. 1    Trends in Vehicles with Alternative Drivetrains in Austria, 2008–2017

Source: Statistik Austria.

Electric vehicles have become more popular within the last few years in Austria. The number of battery electric vehicles increased to 14,618 in 2017 (9,071 in 2016). The number of vehicles driven by CNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), including bivalent ones, rose to 5,543. The number of fuel cell vehicles driven by H₂ rose to 19.^[2]

Taking into account the total number of new registrations based on alternative drivetrains (14,161 vehicles), vehicles with alternative drivetrains account for 4.0% of all new registered vehicles. Table 1 shows the development of the fleet distribution of passenger cars by drivetrains between 2013 and 2017.

Table 1    Fleet Distribution of Passenger Cars by Drivetrain in Austria, 2013–2017

Source: Statistics Austria, KFZ Bestand, as per the end of 2013 through December 31, 2017.^[3]

Development of Filling Stations

By the end of 2017, Austria had a total of 2,670 publicly accessible filling stations. As an annual average, the price of Eurosuper at the filling station was €1.18 ($1.44 US) per L; for diesel, the price was €1.10 ($1.34 US) per L.

The number of natural gas filling stations has slightly decreased in recent years. However, with 161 public CNG stations in 2017, 5 of which are biomethane stations, the number of public CNG filling stations compared to the size of the country is still far above the European average. By the end of 2017, five H₂ refuelling stations and one public LNG filling stations (Ennshafen, Upper Austria) were in operation in Austria.

Research and Demonstration Focus

Federal Funds and Supporting Programs

Since 2007, the Austrian government has more than tripled public funding in the energy research, development and demonstration sectors, adopted a new energy research strategy, and launched several priority programs. In 2015, Austria’s public expenditures for energy-related R&D amounted to €128.4 million ($156 million US), a decrease of €14.7 million ($17.9 million US) compared to 2014. The research areas of energy efficiency (44.4%), smart grids and storage (27.9%), and renewables (17.2%) define the priorities of publicly financed energy research within Austria.

With €10.1 million ($12.3 million US) in 2015, the funding volume for bioenergy slightly increased in comparison to 2014. About 50% of the bioenergy funding was used for applications for heat and electricity. For research in the fields of liquid biofuels and biogas, about €410.000 ($499.000 US) and €510.000 ($620.000 US), respectively, were allocated.

Austria has several programs that fund and support the implementation of advanced fuels and drivetrains. One launched in 2004, called “klimaaktiv mobil,” is Austria’s action program for mobility management to reduce CO₂ emissions and to promote environmentally friendly and energy-efficient mobility. The program provides free advice and financial support to help businesses, fleet operators, and property developers, as well as cities, municipalities, regions, and tourism operators, to develop and implement sustainable mobility projects and transport initiatives.

The Climate and Energy Fund launched in 2014 the “Energieforschungs­programm” (Energy Research Program) replacing its predecessor, the “e!MISSION.at” program. The program supports energy and mobility technology innovations contributing to climate protection and security of supply. In 2017 the program offered a funding of €16.0 millon ($19.5 million US) for topics such as the mutual optimisation of combustion engines and alternative fuels and supports Austrian participation in R&D Collaboration Programmes in the context of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In the ERA-NET Bioenergy Austria cooperates with Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom in funding transnational bioenergy research and innovation projects. The Austrian’s contribution to the 2017 12^th ERA-NET Bioenergy Joint Call amounts to €1.0 million ($1.22 million US).

“Mobilität der Zukunft” (Mobility of the Future), Austria’s national transportation research funding program (2012–2020), is a mission-oriented R&D program aiming to create a transport system which is able to meet future mobility and social challenges by identifying and refining mid- to long-term technological improvements. It includes four complementary areas in which different research themes are addressed: personal mobility, transport infrastructure, vehicle technologies, and mobility of goods.

In 2006, bmvit established the Austrian Association for Advanced Propulsion Systems (A3PS) as a strategic public-private partnership for close cooperation among industry, research institutions, and the ministry, with the goal of developing and launching alternative propulsion systems and fuels.

Outlook

Currently, most funding programs and incentives focus on electro-mobility. Nevertheless, advanced motor fuels are still seen as an important part of the transition toward sustainable mobility in Austria. Some logistic companies run their fleets on biodiesel. However, because of the low price of diesel in Austria and a lack of incentives that cover investment costs, it is unlikely that the trend toward more biofuel vehicles will advance rapidly. Despite well-established CNG infrastructure and existing technological and regulatory framework conditions, market development of CNG vehicles is sluggish. Austria is planning further development of the H₂ infrastructure linked to market development of vehicles running on H₂.

Additional Information Sources

Relevant institutions and programs:

• Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, www.bmvit.gv.at/.
• Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism, www.bmnt.gv.at.
• Mobility of the future, www.mobilitaetderzukunft.at/en.
• klimaaktiv mobil,  www.klimaaktiv.at/mobilitaet.html.
• Climate and Energy Fund, www.klimafonds.gv.at/home-en-US/.
• Austrian Association for Advanced Propulsion Systems, www.a3ps.at.