The European Commission's Electrification Action Plan puts transport electrification at the heart of EU energy policy and moves to mandate smart and bidirectional charging in all new electric vehicles
The European Commission has published an Electrification Action Plan placing direct electrification of transport, including cars, vans, buses, trucks, ships, and planes, at the centre of its strategy to reduce fossil fuel imports and cut road transport emissions. The plan doubles down on a proposal originally made in the Automotive Package to mandate smart and bidirectional charging functionalities (the ability for electric vehicles to both draw from and feed electricity back into the grid) in all new electric vehicles (EVs). The Commission has established the legal basis for this mandate via the type approval regulation (the EU framework governing vehicle certification and market access standards). The plan also commits the Commission to adopting network codes (technical rules governing how devices interact with electricity grids) that will enable EVs to respond to grid signals, alongside a proposal on network charges designed to incentivise smart and bidirectional charging. The creation of electricity markets that reward flexibility is identified as a core objective, signalling significant downstream work for energy regulatory lawyers advising on grid access, EV infrastructure deployment, and product compliance across the EU.
Why this matters
The Electrification Action Plan creates immediate compliance and transactional work across several practice areas. For energy regulatory lawyers, the mandated network codes and type approval requirements for bidirectional charging represent new product compliance obligations for vehicle manufacturers and charging infrastructure operators. For project finance practitioners, the plan's emphasis on grid flexibility and demand response creates a framework within which EV charging infrastructure assets can be structured as revenue-generating grid services, potentially improving bankability. The plan also has relevance to UK practitioners because post-Brexit product divergence between UK and EU type approval standards will need to be tracked by manufacturers selling into both markets. No specific named advisers appear in the sources.
On the Ground
On a regulatory matter arising from this plan, a trainee would prepare regulatory filing coordination memos summarising the key deadlines and obligations flowing from the new network codes, and draft licence condition summaries for clients operating EV charging infrastructure. You would also assist with reviewing technology transfer agreement provisions to check they accommodate the new bidirectional charging specifications.
Interview prep
Question you might get
“What legal and regulatory implications flow from the EU Commission's mandate for bidirectional EV charging, and which practice areas would be most active in advising clients on compliance?”
Sign up free to see the full answer
A model answer you can lift into an interview — how to frame this story for a partner.
Sign up freeSources
My notes
saved