EU Commission mandates bidirectional charging for new electric vehicles

The European Commission has unveiled an Electrification Action Plan aimed at speeding up the decarbonisation of transport, buildings and industry across the EU. The plan sets a target for electricity to supply 46 % of final energy consumption by 2040 and estimates that annual fossil‑fuel imports could fall by about €260 billion.

A central measure is the requirement that all new electric cars be equipped with smart, bidirectional charging (vehicle‑to‑grid) technology, to allow them to feed electricity back into the grid. This will be introduced gradually through type‑approval rules, alongside new grid regulations, regulatory sandboxes for V2G applications and an accelerated rollout of smart meters. Households are expected to benefit financially by using electric vehicles or heat pumps when electricity prices are low. Member states are asked to ensure at least 50 % of meters are smart by 2031.

The environmental NGO Transport & Environment welcomed the direction but warned that the lack of a mandate for onboard bidirectional chargers could force owners to rely on more expensive external wall‑boxes, limiting the uptake of V2G.