What makes charging flexible?
A commuter plugs in at 7 PM. The car will leave at 7 AM and needs about 10 kWh for tomorrow.
At 11 kW, that takes less than an hour. The car will stand for twelve.
The questionHow much freedom does that leave, and who can use it?
7 PM to 7 AM
about 60 km at 17 kWh per 100 km
the time charging actually takes
in which the charging can move
Computed: 10 kWh ÷ 11 kW ≈ 0.9 hours. The rest of the standing time is flexibility.
Three ways to use the freedom
- Shift the charging to hours when the street is quiet or electricity is cheap.
- Stretch it at lower power over more hours, which keeps the peak low.
- Pause it when the grid or the market asks, and resume later, as long as the car is ready on time.
What limits the freedom is the departure time and the energy needed by then. That is why departure times matter so much in load management.
RED III asks Member States to require that vehicle manufacturers make battery data available in real time, including , , power set point and capacity, to owners and to third parties acting for them, such as electricity market participants. With that data, a charging service knows how much freedom a car really has.
Check your understanding
3 questions. Answer all of them to complete this stop. Each answer explains itself.
A car needs 10 kWh and charges at 11 kW. How long does charging take?
10 kWh ÷ 11 kW ≈ 0.9 hours, about 55 minutes.
What limits how far charging can be shifted?
Charging can move freely as long as the car reaches the needed energy by the time it leaves.
What battery data does RED III want manufacturers to share in real time?
Article 20a(3) lists state of health, state of charge, power set point, capacity and, where appropriate, location.
- State of charge How full the battery is right now, in percent; the BMS calculates it from voltage, current and temperature. eMobility and EV basics, stop 02 Glossary
- State of health How much energy the battery can hold today compared with when it was new, in percent. eMobility and EV basics, stop 08 Glossary
- EUR-Lex: Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III), Article 20a inserted into Directive (EU) 2018/2001. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2413/oj. Checked 09 Oct 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.