The European Commission on 17 July 2026 published a staff working document providing guidance to Member States, regulators, and innovators on setting up regulatory sandboxes and living labs for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) pilot projects. The guidance accompanies the Electrification Action Plan and aims to accelerate the deployment of bidirectional charging, which allows electric vehicle batteries to feed electricity back into the grid during peak periods, potentially offsetting up to the full cost of EV charging for consumers.
The document highlights two existing national examples. In the Netherlands, Utrecht's sandbox allowed deviations from standard grid rules, and the national Roadmap on Bidirectional Charging of 22 June 2026 targets national scale-up from 2030 with mass adoption between 2030 and 2035. In France, the Energy Regulatory Commission granted temporary four-year exemptions, renewable once, to The Mobility House, enabling negative tariff coefficients for electricity injection during peak periods. The Commission notes that double network charges on energy storage have already been abolished in the vast majority of Member States.
A key regulatory milestone is the delegated act under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which from 1 January 2027 will require all new recharging points to comply with the ISO 15118-20 protocol, enabling smart and bidirectional services. The guidance clarifies that Member States can already use existing EU state aid and internal market rules to create V2G sandboxes without waiting for new legislation.
The document is a non-binding staff working document, not a legislative proposal. It does not set new numerical targets but provides a practical toolkit for national regulators. The Commission is also adopting a separate legislative proposal on future-proof electricity bills alongside the Electrification Action Plan, which may further affect the economic case for V2G.
EV owners stand to benefit from lower charging costs if V2G is widely adopted, but the complexity of tariff structures and sandbox rules may limit uptake in the short term. Grid operators gain flexibility from distributed storage, though they must invest in smart grid infrastructure. Automakers and charging point manufacturers face a clear compliance deadline from January 2027 for bidirectional-ready hardware, increasing costs but also creating a new market. National regulators must adapt their frameworks to accommodate sandboxes, which may require additional staff and expertise.
The European Parliament and Council will examine the legislative proposal on electricity bills in the coming months. The Commission may also monitor Member States' uptake of the sandbox guidance and could propose further harmonisation if adoption remains uneven.