Smart charging

Charging 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.

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. Charging hardware · Stop 04What is inside a DC charger?Connected by law
  3. Load management · Stop 03How does a backend tell a charger how much power to use?Profiles at three levels
  4. Load management · Deep diveThe charging profiles of the morning, as sentWhat you are looking at
  5. OCPI and roaming · Stop 01Why does a card work at someone else's charger?Two roles, one session
  6. Energy and grid integration · Stop 03What does charging mean for the local grid?Smart by default
  7. Bidirectional charging · Stop 04Which standards make it work?Charger to backend: OCPP 2.1
  8. Regulations and compliance · Stop 02What does AFIR require?Duties at every public charge point

Named in 2 further stops as well.

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