July’s policy developments pulled in two directions at once.
On one side, bidirectional charging and grid flexibility moved decisively from pilot to framework. The standards matured, the Commission set a concrete V2G timeline, and national implementation went live from Germany to the Netherlands to Connecticut.
On the other, a blunt reminder of how far implementation still lags ambition. The Commission opened infringement proceedings against all 27 Member States at once for missing an EPBD deadline whose charging obligations are now less than 18 months away.
Beyond that, this month’s funding update points to California’s next two CALeVIP fast-charging windows, now open for planning.
Here’s what changed in July and what it means for your operations.
Regulatory developments
New version of ISO 15118-20 published
ISO has published Amendment 1 to ISO 15118-20:2022 (ISO 15118-20:2022/Amd 1:2026), the standard governing second-generation vehicle-to-grid communication. Developed under ISO/TC 22/SC 31, the 258-page amendment introduces three additions that matter for operators.
Support for AC Distributed Energy Resources formalizes the application-layer messaging needed for bidirectional AC charging (V2G, V2H, and V2B) on the Mode 3 infrastructure that AFIR’s 2027 deadline covers. Recent laboratory testing at DTU and ElaadNL has already shown the technology is mature, reaching 11 kW V2G discharge with commercial vehicles like the Kia EV9.
Integration of the Megawatt Charging System closes a gap in the heavy-duty stack. MCS uses ISO 15118-20 as its communication layer, operating over 10BASE-T1S Automotive Ethernet with mandatory TLS 1.3 encryption, a deliberate departure from the PLC-based approach used in CCS. At MCS current levels of up to 3,000 A DC, the electromagnetic noise environment is too severe for PLC to meet latency requirements. This formally links the standard to the IEC 63379 connector specification published in February, creating an end-to-end standards chain for megawatt-class charging. Components are already emerging: chargebyte has announced a stand-alone MCS charge controller implementing the full ISO 15118-20 stack.
An improved security concept builds on ISO 15118-20’s existing requirements. Where ISO 15118-2 required only the charging station to hold a certificate, ISO 15118-20 demands mutual authentication, with both vehicle and charger authenticating using valid certificates. The amendment strengthens this further, a necessary step given that Plug & Charge and bidirectional operations expose the charging ecosystem to higher-value attack surfaces than unidirectional charging alone.
The practical read: bidirectional AC now has its standards layer largely settled ahead of the AFIR 2027 deadline we covered in May, while MCS moves another piece into place toward a complete heavy-duty charging stack.
European Commission launches Electrification Action Plan
On July 17, 2026, the Commission published its Electrification Action Plan (COM/2026/595), alongside V2G regulatory sandbox guidance, a proposed amendment to the electricity market regulation (EU/2019/943), and a network charges factsheet. These are the initiatives previewed in June.
The plan targets electricity at 46% of EU energy consumption by 2040, roughly double the current rate of 23%, which has been stagnant for nearly a decade while China, Japan, and South Korea have moved past 30%. The Commission frames electrification partly as an energy-security lever: higher electrification could displace two-thirds of natural gas consumption and halve oil use, cutting imports by €200 billion.
For transport, the headline items are V2G requirements for new EVs planned by the end of 2027 and an assessment of smart charging by default in EV supply contracts by mid-2027. Joint E-Mobility Europe and Ember analysis estimates that the EU’s 2030 targets (35 million BEVs, 3 million commercial vehicles, 200,000 electric trucks) would displace 190 million barrels of oil a year, saving roughly €12 billion.
The dedicated V2G sandbox guidance is the signal worth noting. The Commission now treats bidirectional charging as ready to move from pilot to regulatory framework.
European Commission publishes STF reports on HDV charging infrastructure
The Commission’s Sustainable Transport Forum published six reports from its sub-group on zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. They cover the CCS-to-MCS transition timeline, projected ZEV fleet numbers against infrastructure demand under the EU’s HDV CO₂ standards (410,000 to 600,000 zero-emission HDVs by 2030, up to 90% battery electric), use cases and user requirements, infrastructure transparency and grid capacity, deployment bottlenecks, and Electric Road Systems.
The scale gap they document is stark. EAFO records just 373 operational HDV charging locations meeting AFIR’s 350 kW threshold across 21 countries as of April 2026, while ICCT estimates the EU-27 will need 22 to 28 GW of installed truck charging capacity by 2030. The Clean Transport Corridor Initiative, launched by Commissioner Tzitzikostas with nine Member States along the Scandinavian-Mediterranean and North Sea-Baltic corridors, is the main deployment response. The gap remains wide.
For operators in the HDV space, this is the clearest signal yet of where infrastructure demand is heading. It also sharpens the heavy-duty gap in the Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation we flagged in March.
European Commission publishes Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector
On June 3, 2026, the Commission published its Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the Energy Sector (COM(2026) 501), covering data center integration, digital and AI deployment across the energy value chain, and data governance for smart energy services. Two points are directly relevant to charging.
First, the Commission estimates smart and bidirectional charging savings of €450 to €2,900 per consumer per year, citing Utrecht’s V2G car-sharing network as a reference case. Digital-enabled flexibility from EVs, heat pumps, batteries, and controllable demand is estimated to unlock 230 GW by 2030.
Second, and more actionable, it names fragmented national data-exchange rules as the core barrier to scaling smart-charging services across borders. Because each market sets its own rules for how charging data is exchanged, a provider operating in several countries has to build a separate interface per market instead of one integration. That is the cost that stops these services scaling. The roadmap’s fix is a harmonized framework covering both operational data exchange and its secondary use for AI training, with assessment through 2026 and development from 2027. It builds on the expert group recommendations published on May 20, which AMPECO contributed to through ChargeUp Europe.
The roadmap also commits to legislation accelerating smart meter rollout with minimum Member State coverage targets, ACER smart grid performance indicators by 2028, and €75 million in Horizon Europe funding (2026 to 2027) for grids, self-consumption, energy sharing, and storage.
For CPOs, the fragmentation is the constraint to plan around now. Relief is still a couple of years out.
European Commission opens infringement proceedings against all 27 Member States on EPBD transposition
On July 15, 2026, the Commission sent letters of formal notice to all 27 Member States for failing to transpose the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2024/1275 into national law by the May 29 deadline. Not a single Member State complied. They now have two months to respond before the Commission may escalate to reasoned opinions.
The EPBD’s charging provisions, covered in detail in May, are directly relevant to EV charging. New residential buildings with more than three parking spaces need at least one charge point and pre-cabling for all spaces. New non-residential builds need one charge point per five spaces (one per two for offices). Existing non-residential buildings with more than 20 spaces must install at least one charge point per ten and pre-cable half of them from January 1, 2027. All charge points must support smart charging.
That 2027 deadline is now under 18 months away with zero Member States having transposed the underlying law. CPOs and real estate developers operating across markets are left to make procurement and installation decisions without settled national rules.
UK Government confirms eVED design
On July 13, 2026, the UK Government published its response to the eVED consultation, confirming its electric Vehicle Excise Duty scheme will proceed from April 1, 2028, unchanged from Budget 2025. BEVs and hydrogen FCEVs pay 3p per mile, PHEVs 1.5p per mile, uprated annually with CPI. That is roughly half of fuel duty and is expected to raise around £1.2 billion. Vans, buses, coaches, and HGVs are out of scope.
Following industry feedback, the design added concessions: self-reported odometer readings rather than MOT-linked checks for vehicles under three years, opt-in telematics reporting, and bulk fleet licensing. The BVRLA had estimated the original design would cost fleets around £260 million a year in compliance. It welcomed the changes but still calls the policy mistimed.
For charging, the link to watch is the Cost of Charging Review (Philip New, reporting autumn 2026). eVED adds a per-mile cost for drivers already facing the highest public charging prices, and the Government points to the review as its offsetting lever.
UK confirms VAT cut on electricity bills
On July 21, 2026, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a temporary VAT cut on domestic electricity, from 5% to 0% for six months, from October 1 to the end of March. The cut lands alongside the final 2026 price cap update and is expected to save the average household around £45 a year.
For the EV charging sector, it modestly narrows the price gap between grid electricity and other energy sources relevant to residential and workplace charging economics. But the six-month term means it reads as a short-term tariff adjustment, not a structural shift.
Germany’s Nationale Leitstelle launches bidirectional charging training course
Germany’s Nationale Leitstelle Ladeinfrastruktur has published a free online course on bidirectional charging, “LadeLernTOOL kompakt: Bidirektionales Laden,” through its LadeLernTOOL e-learning platform.
The course itself is a modest resource, but the timing tracks a fast-maturing environment. The November 2025 EnWG amendment removed the double network charge that had made bidirectional charging uneconomic for most households, and the VDE-AR-N 4105:2026-03 application rule (effective March 2026) now provides the technical framework for grid-compliant installations.
According to the VDA, over 30 passenger car models sold in Germany are already V2H and V2G ready, with full cross-manufacturer interoperability expected in 2027 or 2028. For CPOs and installers in the DACH market, the platform’s courses on HDV charging, planning and permitting, and building electrification under the GEIG and EPBD are worth a look.
Netherlands ramps up effort on grid-aware charging
Dutch grid operators are preparing to deploy dynamic grid-aware charging at public stations this winter, and ElaadNL is running the interoperability validation that will determine readiness. Under the scheme, grid operators send real-time capacity limits for clusters of public charge points to CPOs via OpenADR 3, the open demand-response protocol jointly selected by grid operators and CPOs for this purpose. CPOs then distribute available capacity across their stations accordingly.
The hard deadline for operators: all participating CPOs must complete individual implementation testing at ElaadNL before September 1, 2026, ahead of an operational test on the GOPACS platform running through October 1.
The move from static to dynamic matters. Over the 2025/26 winter, Enexis and Stedin piloted static grid-aware charging, fixed power restrictions during preset evening peak blocks, and cut evening peak grid load in Utrecht by 49.5%. Dynamic grid-aware charging issues day-ahead control signals targeting specific stations for specific periods, allocating capacity more precisely where congestion risk is highest. ElaadNL serves as protocol administrator on behalf of the NAL program Smart Charging for Everyone, verifying that both sides have implemented OpenADR identically before live connection.
Dutch CPOs should confirm their testing slot now.
Connecticut formalizes interconnection standards for bidirectional EV charging
Effective July 1, 2026, Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Company filed revised Interconnection Guidelines with Connecticut’s PURA (Docket No. 25-08-05 pursuant to Order No. 25). The guidelines formally classify bidirectional EV charging equipment as a Distributed Energy Resource subject to standard interconnection screening.
Key requirements under the new Section 2.8:
- An interconnection application is required for all DER operating in parallel with the distribution system, including grid-tied bidirectional equipment.
- Vehicle-integral bidirectional chargers may not export power or offset parallel load except through an approved, metered point of interconnection. Export requires municipal approval, a meter change where applicable, and Permission to Operate documentation.
- EVSE is treated as an inverter-based DER, subject to the same technical, safety, and interconnection requirements as other inverter-based facilities.
- Vehicle-based systems must certify under UL 1741 Supplement SC or via a UL 1741 SB Certification Requirement Decision. The specific CRD reference is left blank in the guidelines, leaving that second pathway unusable until clarified.
- The residential Fast Track threshold was doubled, from 25 kW to 50 kW.
Funding and incentive updates
CALeVIP: DC fast charger funding windows now open for planning
CALeVIP has published full details for the next two Fast Charge California Project (FCCP) windows, first announced in May. Window 2 runs October 7, 2026, to January 14, 2027, covering up to 100% of eligible DC fast charger installation costs at up to $100,000 per port. Window 3 runs February 24 to May 27, 2027, with a flat $55,000 per port for chargers of at least 150 kW.
Both windows target ready-to-build, publicly accessible fast chargers statewide. CALeVIP is hosting two preparation webinars: an overview session on August 18 and an application walkthrough for Window 2 on September 30.
AMPECO is currently the only CMS listed as CALeVIP-ready, so clients on the platform can bid into both windows with a pre-qualified software stack. AMPECO is also a recognized network provider for New York’s NYSERDA Charge Ready 2.0 and an EPRI-approved provider for more than 20 utility programs nationwide, including Duke Energy, Xcel Energy, and SMUD.
Looking ahead
This month, the grid-flexibility rules got specific, with testing deadlines in the Netherlands, interconnection screening in Connecticut, and a V2G timeline in Brussels. The EPBD infringement action shows the gap that remains: the deadlines are firm well before the national rules behind them are.
For CPOs and eMSPs, that’s the balance to hold through the rest of 2026: moving on the requirements that are already concrete without waiting for the frameworks still taking shape around them.
Key dates and deadlines
- August 18, 2026: CALeVIP FCCP overview webinar
- September 1, 2026: ElaadNL OpenADR implementation testing deadline for Dutch CPOs
- Mid-September 2026: Member States’ two-month window to respond to EPBD letters of formal notice closes
- September 30, 2026: CALeVIP Window 2 application walkthrough webinar
- October 1, 2026: UK domestic electricity VAT cut takes effect; GOPACS operational test phase ends
- October 7, 2026: CALeVIP FCCP Window 2 opens (runs to January 14, 2027)
- Autumn 2026: UK Cost of Charging Review reports
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