In 2025, the European Union locked several pieces of legislation and funding in place that, taken together, give practical effect to the long-discussed idea of “green freight corridors” linking seaports with inland logistics hubs. Because the measures are now law or backed by published financing decisions, they provide a verified framework that transport operators can start planning around today.
New TEN-T Regulation Turns Corridors Green
On 13 June 2024, the Council adopted the revised Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation. The law merges the former Core Network Corridors and Rail Freight Corridors into nine European Transport Corridors (ETCs), explicitly positioning them as the backbone for sustainable, multimodal freight. It sets binding completion deadlines: 2030 for the (existing) core network, 2040 for an extended cross-border layer, and 2050 for the comprehensive network.
Alternative-Fuel Infrastructure Deadlines for 2025-2030
Complementing the corridor map, the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) requires:
- fast chargers ≥ 350 kW for heavy-duty vehicles every 60 km on the TEN-T core road network from 2025;
- hydrogen refuelling stations in every urban node and at 200 km intervals on the core road network from 2030;
- shoreside electricity for container and large passenger vessels in core ports by 2030;
- aircraft stand electrification at all EU gates by 2025.
These targets mean that any port-to-terminal route falling inside an ETC will, by law, be flanked by high-power charging or hydrogen supply within the next five years, removing a principal barrier to zero-emission long-haul trucking.
Fresh Funding Boost: €422 Million for Charging, Hydrogen and Shore Power
On 6 February 2025 the Commission awarded €422 million through the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) to 39 projects that install megawatt-level truck chargers, hydrogen stations and on-shore power systems in ports and airports. The call is part of a €1 billion rolling envelope opened in 2024; a further €578 million remains available for the next cut-off in June 2025.
For operators, the grant list is an immediate indicator of where public charging and refuelling capacity will appear first—useful for fleet procurement schedules tied to the 2025 AFIR milestones.
Digital Backbone: eFTI Begins Paperless Transition
Physical upgrades are being matched by a digital layer. The first implementing and delegated acts under the Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) Regulation entered into force on 9 January 2025. Member States may now build the certified IT platforms that will let road, rail, barge and sea carriers present freight data electronically for checks; full acceptance by authorities becomes mandatory from July 2027.
The Commission estimates that harmonised e-documents could save the logistics sector up to €1 billion per year in administrative costs—a gain that directly improves door-to-door corridor efficiency.
Early Corridor Projects Show the Concept in Action
While the EU framework is horizontal, individual corridors are already moving:
- Rotterdam–Duisburg Hydrogen Corridor – The ports’ 2023 feasibility study confirmed piping green hydrogen to the Ruhr industrial cluster, with the first pipeline targeted for 2027. Inland shipping and rail are included in the distribution model.
- Duqm–Amsterdam–Duisburg Liquid-Hydrogen Route – On 17 April 2025 eleven companies and authorities from Oman, the Netherlands and Germany signed a joint-development agreement for the world’s first large-scale liquid-hydrogen import corridor into Europe, integrating pipelines, rail and barge links to inland hubs.
These projects illustrate how port authorities and private operators are leveraging the TEN-T/AFIR backbone to build dedicated low-emission supply chains—exactly the outcome that the EU regulatory package is designed to catalyse.