What does bidirectional charging mean?
A January evening. The car stands in the driveway at 80%, about 56 kWh. Electricity is at its most expensive between 5 and 9 PM.
The household's new wallbox can let energy flow in both directions.
The questionWhat does it take for a car to power a house, and how far does its battery go?
Guess firstA house uses about 13 kWh between 5 and 11 PM. What share of a 70 kWh car battery is that?RevealHide
Under a fifth. Even after powering the evening, the car keeps most of its charge for tomorrow's drive.
Smart charging, in reverse
EU law defines as a 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.
A car that can do both becomes a battery on wheels: it stores energy when it is plentiful and gives it back when it is needed.
close to the EU average of new cars
the house from 5 to 11 PM
13 kWh of 70 kWh
from 56 kWh at 80%
A composed household. Even a full winter evening uses a small part of a car battery.
Not mandated, but on the agenda
does not require bidirectional charging. It asks Member States to plan for it in their national policy frameworks, including the geographical distribution of bidirectional charging points, and national regulatory authorities to assess every three years how bidirectional charging could lower costs for users and the system and raise the share of renewable electricity.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
How does EU law define bi-directional recharging?
AFIR, Article 2(11): electricity can flow from the battery to the recharging point.
Does AFIR require public chargers to be bidirectional?
It is not mandated; Member States plan for it in their frameworks, and regulators assess its potential every three years.
A house uses 13 kWh in an evening. What share of a 70 kWh battery is that?
13 ÷ 70 ≈ 0.19.
- AFIR Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (EU) 2023/1804: EU rules for public charging, from payment to coverage. EV charging fundamentals, stop 08 Glossary
- Bidirectional charging Smart charging in which the electricity can also flow from the car's battery back to the charging point. Glossary
- 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. Glossary
- 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.
- 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.
- Open Charge Alliance: AFIR and OCPP, white paper v1.0, January 2024: bidirectional charging. https://openchargealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ocpp_and_afir-white-paper.pdf. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY-ND 4.0.