Europe’s Multi Billion Euro BiDi Charging Opportunity​

Bidirectional charging changes what Europe's vehicle fleet is for

Yesterday, EV charging changed the way Europe moves. Today, bidirectional (BiDi) charging is set to change the way Europe powers itself. The technology is proven and ready for commercial rollout, regulatory barriers are falling across key markets, and flexibility and sector coupling are starting to free up real value across the energy stack.

Strategy& and Fraunhofer ISI have modelled the European opportunity end-to-end — from vehicle sales diffusion through 2040, to system-wide cost savings, to per-vehicle economics. Two findings stand out.

Register to download

By 2035, Europe's garages will hold the largest distributed energy asset on the continent

Bidirectional-ready vehicles diffuse faster than most forecasts assume. By 2035, around 87% of new light-vehicle sales and 33% of new truck sales across Europe will be BiDi-capable — putting approximately 82 million BiDi assets on the road, with more than 600 GW of connected load and over 5 TWh of available storage. That alone exceeds expected stationary battery (BESS) capacity on EMEA grids by 2035 — and connected at peak, the fleet could cover 97% of the EU's projected 2035 peak power demand. The full sales and fleet trajectories, segmented by vehicle class and modelled on Strategy& Autofacts^® data, are detailed in the viewpoint.

The economics already work — for the system and for the individual user

A continental BiDi fleet cuts total European energy system cost by more than 8% — roughly €7.7 billion per year by 2035 — by displacing generation, deferring transmission expansion, reducing utility-scale storage build-out, and unlocking demand-side flexibility.

The same fleet generates around €440 per car and €1,000 per truck in annual revenue across energy arbitrage, grid services, and behind-the-meter use cases. The hardware premium for bidirectional capability is marginal — about €100 per wallbox — and pays back in year one. Optimization methodology, value-pool decomposition by vehicle segment, and 2035 sensitivities are inside the viewpoint.

The window is open now. Germany's New Energy Industry Act has cleared double grid charges on fed-back electricity. The EU's SCALE project has issued guidelines for bidirectional charging. Relevant players from automotive and energy — including BMW + E.ON, Mercedes-Benz + The Mobility House, Renault, and Ford + Octopus Energy — are already in market, with offers paying €600–700 per vehicle per year. Market share is the race to win.

As regulatory barriers unwind …

• SCALE publishes new EU guidelines to support bidirectional EV charging: The Smart Charging Alignment for Europe (SCALE) project has the goal to accelerate the development of intelligent charging infrastructure and unlock the full potential of V2X solutions in Europe.
• E-mobility: Bundestag paves the way for bidirectional charging. New Energy Industry Act: fed-back electricity no longer subject to double grid charges. Unlocks e-car storage potential.

… market players today offer 600-700€ per vehicle and year

Recommendations to make the BiDi opportunity real

1. Form cross-industry alliances: Value sits at the intersections — batteries, hardware, data, market access, and grid signals must align. First movers are already locking in market share through industry-overarching JVs and partnerships across the stack.
   
   
2. Treat BiDi as core grid infrastructure: With more than 5 TWh of distributed storage and over 600 GW of connected load by 2035, BiDi can defer transmission and storage build-out at scale. Grid operators and regulators should plan it in as a non-wire alternative, not as an add-on.
   
   
3. Bundle BiDi into recurring revenue propositions: Pair the vehicle, the wallbox, and the energy tariff into a single ownership offer. With €600–700 per vehicle per year already on the table, the players who reach customers first will define the category.
   
   
4. Align standards across Europe: Cross-border technical standards and harmonised grid-compatibility rules will let players roll out one solution continent-wide, rather than re-homologating market by market. Predictable, EU-wide interfaces unlock simultaneous investment across automotive, energy, and infrastructure.