Bidirectional charging

Smart charging in which the electricity can also flow from the car's battery back to the charging point.

Explained in

Bidirectional charging · Stop 01What does bidirectional charging mean?Electricity that can also flow out of the car: what EU law means by bidirectional recharging, and how large a car battery is compared with an evening at home.

EU law defines bi-directional recharging as a smart recharging operation in which the direction of the electricity flow can be reversed, so that electricity flows from the battery to the recharging point. Smart recharging itself means adjusting the power delivered to the battery in real time, based on information received electronically.

From “Smart charging, in reverse”, stop 01

Also in

  1. EV charging fundamentals · Stop 08What standards make all of this work?From datasheet to field
  2. eMobility and EV basics · Stop 09One electric car, fully understoodWhere to go from here
  3. eMobility and EV basics · Deep diveThe battery health report, line by lineWhat the report says about the next four years
  4. Plug & Charge · Stop 07What does ISO 15118-20 add?Where it leads
  5. Energy and grid integration · Stop 09One evening on the grid, fully understoodWhere to go from here
  6. Bidirectional charging · Stop 04Which standards make it work?Charger to backend: OCPP 2.1
  7. Regulations and compliance · Stop 06What must buildings provide for charging?The office car park
  8. Fleet charging · Stop 08One night at the depot, fully understoodWhere to go from here

Named in 4 further stops as well.

  1. Smart chargingCharging whose power is adjusted in real time, based on information received electronically, for example from the grid operator or a price signal; EU law calls it smart recharging.
  1. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Article 2(11) and (65): bi-directional and smart recharging. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
  2. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR), Article 2(11) and (65): bi-directional and smart recharging. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.