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Your electric fleet sits idle for most of the day. Parked at the depot, plugged in, batteries full of stored energy. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) makes it possible to feed that energy back into the electricity grid or use it on your own site. Not as a theoretical concept, but as a technology taking its first commercial steps in Europe in 2026.

For fleet operators and energy managers, that matters. Not because V2G replaces charging, but because it adds a revenue layer on top of investments you are already making. This article covers what vehicle-to-grid actually is, how it works technically, what European and Dutch regulation says and when the business case holds up.

TL;DR

Most commercial electric vehicles sit idle 80 to 90 per cent of the time with a full or partially full battery.

  • Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) lets those batteries feed energy back to the grid, turning your fleet into a flexible energy asset.
  • The AFIR regulation requires all new charge points from 1 January 2027 to support ISO 15118-20, the standard for bidirectional communication.
  • For commercial large-scale consumers in the Netherlands, the double energy tax on storage has been resolved since 2022. That makes the business case for companies stronger than for households.
  • Revenue streams run through price arbitrage on dynamic contracts, peak shaving on your connection and participation in flexibility markets such as GOPACS.
  • An EMS is needed to integrate V2G safely and profitably alongside your charging schedule, solar generation and battery storage.

The question is not whether V2G is coming. The question is whether your charging infrastructure is ready when it does.

What is vehicle-to-grid?

Vehicle-to-grid is a technology that allows electric vehicles to feed electricity back into the grid, not just draw from it. The vehicle battery acts as distributed storage: the vehicle charges when electricity is cheap or abundant and discharges when the grid needs that energy.

The difference from standard charging is the direction of energy flow. Conventional charging moves electricity one way, from the grid to the vehicle. V2G works both ways. That requires a bidirectional charger, a vehicle with the right software and hardware, and a communication protocol that manages both directions.

V2G is one variant within the broader concept of bidirectional charging. The main variants:

  • V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid): energy flows back to the public electricity grid. The vehicle actively provides grid services.
  • V2B (Vehicle-to-Building): energy flows to the building or site behind the meter. Useful for self-consumption and peak shaving.
  • V2H (Vehicle-to-Home): energy flows to a residential building. Similar to V2B, but at household level.
  • V2L (Vehicle-to-Load): the vehicle powers external devices via an onboard socket. No grid interaction.

For companies with a fleet, V2G and V2B are the most relevant. V2G generates income via the grid; V2B saves costs by making better use of on-site generation and reducing peaks on your connection.

How does V2G work technically?

The technical foundation of vehicle-to-grid rests on three components: the vehicle, the charger and the control system.

  • The vehicle needs a battery that can be discharged bidirectionally and software that permits it. Not every electric vehicle supports V2G. Manufacturers such as Renault, Nissan, Kia and Hyundai now offer models with V2G-compatible hardware. Many other brands have announced support for 2026 and 2027 but currently deliver only V2H or V2L.

  • The charger must be bidirectional. In AC-based V2G (as Renault uses), the inverter sits inside the vehicle and the charger itself is relatively simple. In DC-based V2G, the inverter is in the charging unit, enabling higher power levels but at greater cost. For commercial charging plazas with heavier vehicles, DC-V2G is likely the path forward, but the market for DC bidirectional chargers remains small.

  • The communication protocol is ISO 15118. The older version (ISO 15118-2) supports one-way communication only. The newer version, ISO 15118-20, enables bidirectional communication over CCS and adds Plug & Charge. She handles not just the energy flow, but also authentication, tariff information and the boundaries within which the vehicle may discharge.

Without an energy management system (EMS) coordinating the process, V2G is not workable for businesses in practice. The EMS decides, based on real-time data, when each vehicle charges or discharges. She factors in departure and arrival times, grid limits, electricity prices and the status of other assets such as solar panels and battery storage.

What does regulation say?

Regulation around V2G is moving quickly, but not all pieces are in place yet. For commercial users in the Netherlands and wider Europe, the picture is more nuanced than headlines suggest.

European: AFIR mandates ISO 15118-20

The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) requires all newly installed charge points, public and private, to support ISO 15118-20 from 1 January 2027. That means every new charger installed after that date must be technically capable of bidirectional communication. The European Commission has explicitly confirmed that the older ISO 15118-2 standard falls short of future-proof charging infrastructure requirements. Charge point operators also fall under the NIS2 directive as critical infrastructure, adding cybersecurity and data protection requirements.

Double energy tax: already resolved for businesses

In the Netherlands, the biggest fiscal barrier to V2G is the double energy tax. You pay energy tax when charging; you do not receive it back when feeding into the grid. The next consumer then pays tax again on the same kilowatt-hour.

Here is where the picture changes for businesses: for large-scale consumers, this double taxation was resolved on 1 January 2022. Only final consumption is taxed. For small consumers (households), the issue remains unresolved. That puts commercial V2G applications in a stronger fiscal position than residential ones. A logistics company with a large-scale connection can store energy in vehicle batteries and feed it back without being taxed twice.

Dutch net metering ends in 2027

Net metering in the Netherlands ends on 1 January 2027. Where you can currently offset exported solar power against consumption, that benefit disappears. V2G offers an alternative: charge your vehicles during the day with on-site solar generation and discharge the batteries when electricity is worth more. That only works with a dynamic energy contract and an EMS that optimises the timing.

Certification and grid registration

A vehicle feeding energy back to the grid must be certified. The charger must comply with NEN-EN-50549. For higher capacities, registration with the grid operator is mandatory. The exact arrangements for who certifies and against which standards are being finalised in 2026 and 2027.

When does the business case add up?

The financial return from V2G for businesses comes from three sources.

  • Price arbitrage on dynamic contracts. With a dynamic energy contract, you pay a different price for electricity every hour. V2G lets you charge when prices are low (for instance, during midday solar peaks) and discharge when prices are high (evening peak). On some days, the spread can reach 20 cents per kWh or more, particularly when daytime prices turn negative. A fleet of twenty vehicles with 60 kWh usable capacity each represents 1.2 MWh of flexible storage. Even if you deploy only 30 per cent for arbitrage, that is 360 kWh per day you shift to higher-priced hours.
  • Peak shaving on your connection. Your connection costs are determined by your contracted peak capacity. V2B (discharging behind the meter) can reduce peak load on your site by using vehicle batteries as a buffer when consumption would normally exceed your contract limit. Lower contracted capacity means lower transport costs. This is particularly relevant in cases of grid congestion, where requesting a larger connection can mean years of waiting.
  • Flexibility markets and congestion management. Grid operators actively seek flexibility to resolve local grid constraints. Through platforms such as GOPACS, companies that offer flexible capacity can receive compensation. A fleet that reduces consumption or feeds back on request is precisely the type of flexibility grid operators need. The value varies by region and moment, but in congestion areas it can be a serious additional revenue stream.

The business case is currently strongest for companies that already have a large-scale connection, hold a dynamic energy contract and run an EMS that centrally manages all assets. Without that combination, the required optimisation is missing. The availability of V2G-capable vehicles also remains limited, particularly for heavier vehicle categories. And the impact on battery degradation has not been settled for all scenarios. Research from TU Delft and others shows both positive and negative effects, depending on discharge depth and frequency. Most manufacturers therefore limit the amount of energy that may be discharged via V2G.

What does V2G mean for your charging infrastructure?

If you are investing in charging infrastructure for businesses today, it makes sense to build V2G-ready, even if you are not deploying it immediately. In practice, that means:

  • Choose charge points that support ISO 15118-20 or can be upgraded via firmware. From 2027, this is mandatory under AFIR.

  • Make sure your dynamic charging and load management is already in place. V2G adds a control layer that only works if the foundation is solid.

  • Connect an EMS that manages not just your charging infrastructure, but your entire site energy system: solar panels, battery, charge points, operational processes and grid connection as a whole.

An EMS that recalculates every five minutes based on electricity prices, weather forecasts, vehicle schedules and grid limits is not a luxury with V2G. It is a requirement. Without that level of control, you discharge at the wrong moment, disrupt your charging schedule or exceed your connection limit.

Ready for the next step?

Want to understand how V2G fits within your charging strategy and energy system? Book a demo and find out what an EMS delivers for your fleet.

Frequently asked questions

Smart charging controls only when and how fast a vehicle charges, based on electricity prices and grid load. V2G also enables the vehicle to feed energy back. Smart charging saves costs by buying more intelligently; V2G adds an active revenue layer.

Additional charge and discharge cycles do affect battery degradation, but the effect depends heavily on discharge depth, frequency and temperature. Research shows mixed results. Most manufacturers therefore limit maximum discharge via V2G. A well-configured EMS accounts for this and prevents vehicles from discharging beyond manufacturer limits.

No. V2G requires specific hardware and software in the vehicle. In 2026, the Renault 5, Renault 4, Alpine A290 and Nissan Leaf (via CHAdeMO) support bidirectional charging. The Kia EV9 and Hyundai IONIQ 9 participate in pilots. For heavier vehicles such as trucks, V2G support is still scarce.

Not as a large-scale consumer. The double energy tax on storage was resolved for large consumers on 1 January 2022. Only final consumption is taxed. For small consumers (households), this issue has not yet been resolved.

The AFIR regulation requires all newly installed charge points from 1 January 2027 to support ISO 15118-20. That makes them capable of bidirectional communication. Existing charge points do not need to be replaced, but new installations and replacements must meet the new requirements.

For a single vehicle, technically not. For a fleet at a commercial site, in practice yes. Without an EMS, you cannot coordinate which vehicle charges or discharges when, let alone align that with electricity prices, solar generation, departure schedules and connection limits simultaneously.

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