Can EV charging infrastructure solve Europe’s grid congestion? The EU Commission thinks so

At a glance:

• Europe’s grid crisis isn’t caused by EV demand; it’s a supply-side problem from renewable energy integration.
• The European Grids Package (Dec 2025) prioritises EV charging infrastructure for grid connections.
• EV charging infrastructure provides flexible demand that absorbs excess solar/wind and throttles back when supply drops – exactly what grids need to balance renewables.
• These packages are proposals, not finalised law, but the direction is clear: EU policy is treating EV charging infrastructure as a tool to solve grid congestion. 

A common scenario for charge point operators (CPOs) in the past years looks like this: you’ve raised capital, identified high-value locations, and negotiated site agreements. Hardware is ordered, and your business plan assumes you’ll be operational within months. Then you submit your grid connection request, and the waiting time begins.  

In the Netherlands, some operators are now looking at multi-year delays. Unlike common belief, this is not because the grid is at capacity. In the Netherlands – Europe’s poster child for grid congestion – total electricity consumption has barely increased in recent years, with per capita consumption down nearly 10% from its 2008 peak. 

So, if demand isn’t the problem, what is, and what can Europe do about it? 

The renewables integration problem and how EVs can help 

The reality is that grid companies are struggling to integrate increasing amounts of intermittent renewable energy into systems designed for predictable generation from coal, gas, and nuclear plants. Solar and wind energy flood the system when available and vanish when it’s cloudy or calm. 

Grids are over-engineered by design, typically operating at only 30% capacity to handle peaks and troughs. But they’re built to manage demand fluctuations, not supply inconsistencies. When renewables flood the system with more electricity than consumers need, or suddenly drop off, grid operators struggle to maintain the critical balance between supply and demand. 

Get that balance wrong, and the consequences are severe. In the last years, Spain and Portugal experienced widespread blackouts not from excess demand, but from oversupply surpassing grid balancing capabilities. 

In practice, EV charging infrastructure is one of the few tools we have to actually solve this problem. When solar and wind flood the grid with cheap electricity, charging infrastructure can absorb it. When supply tightens, smart systems can dial back consumption. 

“Europe set renewable energy targets for member states. That’s caused the problem for grid – they have a very hard time opening the ‘floodgates’ for renewables when they’re available and matching that huge amount of energy with demand on the other side. That’s where we come in as a sector. We can store electricity in all these batteries on wheels. Most places in Europe will be looking to use those batteries for exactly that purpose.” 

– Arne Richters, Head of Public Affairs at Last Mile Solutions 

The EU Commission appears to understand this. Their European Grids Package, released in December 2025, finally gives EV charging infrastructure priority access to grid connections, treating it as part of the solution, not the problem.  

Buried in the policy language is the explicit recognition that electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure that supports them are flexible grid resources that help balance renewable energy supply. The package specifically mentions smart charging (throttling electricity uptake based on grid conditions) and vehicle-to-grid services (using EV batteries as distributed storage) as grid balancing tools.  

This marks a philosophical shift in how EU policy treats electrification: from grid stressor to grid balancing tool. The honest story is that the problem behind grid congestion is renewables. The solution is flexible demand. And EV charging infrastructure, properly managed, is exactly that. 

What the European Grids Package means for CPOs 

The most significant shift is that EV charging infrastructure now gets bumped to the front of the grid connection queue ahead of projects that don’t contribute to decarbonisation. 

What does this mean in practice? If you’re building charging stations and someone else is applying for grid capacity to power a casino or a cement factory, you get priority. The policy treats charging infrastructure as “projects of overriding public interest” – the same designation reserved for critical energy infrastructure. 

This matters because until now, most grid companies operated strict first-come, first-served queues. As publicly-owned regulatory bodies, they couldn’t legally discriminate between requests. A speculative data centre application submitted six months before a fully-funded charging hub? The data centre went first, even if the charging project was ready to be built tomorrow. 

The package also introduced specific timeline targets that grid companies must meet: 

• Connections under 100 kW: Approximately 1 month response deadline 

• Larger charging projects over 100 kW: Approximately 6 months for approval and connection 

Compare that to the current situation: in many European markets, charge point operators are looking at 1-3 years or longer between submitting a grid connection request and actually getting permission to run their stations.  

How EV charging infrastructure delivers grid balancing in practice 

EV charging provides flexible demand that can absorb excess renewables and throttle back when supply tightens. While this might sound futuristic, the reality is that such projects are already live across Europe. 

V1G: The volume dial for electricity 

The simplest form of grid balancing has been built into charging infrastructure from the beginning. Since the very first versions of OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) – the communication standard that connects chargers to backend management systems – every smart charger has had the ability to modulate electricity consumption. Think of it like a volume dial on a stereo: the system can turn charging power up when electricity is abundant and cheap or dial it down when the grid is constrained. 

This is called V1G, or “grid-to-vehicle” smart charging. While not as exciting as vehicle-to-grid battery discharge, it’s enormously valuable for grid operators struggling to balance renewable supply. 

Here’s an example of how it works in practice: when solar generation peaks at midday and electricity prices drop (or even go negative in some markets), charging networks can automatically ramp up power delivery across thousands of charge points. When renewable supply drops in the evening and grid operators need to conserve capacity, those same chargers can throttle back consumption by slowing charging speeds slightly but ensuring vehicles still reach target charge levels. 

The beauty of V1G is that it’s invisible to drivers. Their cars still charge. They still get the range they need. But the timing and intensity of that charging is optimised to support grid stability rather than stress it. 

Last Mile Solutions operates exactly this kind of system in Rotterdam, in partnership with Equans. The network functions as Europe’s largest virtual power plant by modulating demand in real-time based on grid conditions. 

V2G: The exciting next frontier 

Vehicle-to-grid technology takes this concept further. Instead of just modulating charging speed, V2G-capable vehicles can actually discharge stored battery energy back into the grid when needed, turning every EV into distributed energy storage. 

The potential is great. Modern EVs carry 50-100 kWh batteries, which is enough to power an average home for a day. Across a fleet of thousands or millions of vehicles, that represents gigawatt-scale storage capacity that can be deployed without building a single stationary battery facility. 

Projects like We Drive Solar in the Netherlands are pioneering this approach, delivering grid services directly to grid operators rather than just optimising charging for cost. The working principle is simple: when renewable generation creates excess supply, EVs charge; when the grid needs support, vehicles discharge small amounts of battery capacity back into the system – while getting compensated for the service they’re providing. 

V2G technology is still maturing, and regulatory frameworks for compensating V2G services are in progress.  

Grid companies struggling to manage renewable energy variability don’t need less EV charging infrastructure. More of it might be the actual solution, as long as it’s intelligently managed and integrated into grid balancing systems. 

“Since the very outset, the protocols that are important to our industry – OCPP first and foremost – have always been designed to make every charger connected to a smart backend throttle the uptake of electricity. Like a volume button on your stereo, we can turn up the volume or turn down the volume. We can do the same with electricity. That is a grid balancing service.”  

– Arne Richters, Head of Public Affairs at Last Mile Solutions 

What CPOs can expect in the coming years  

It’s important to highlight that these packages are proposals, not finalised law. 

The EU Commission released the European Grids Package in December 2025. Now it moves through the standard European legislative process: debated by the European Parliament, reviewed by Member States, potentially modified through multiple readings before final adoption. That process can take months or years, and the final version may look different from what was proposed. 

Industry groups like ChargeUp Europe are actively working to strengthen the provisions most relevant to EV charging infrastructure, pushing for higher kilowatt thresholds, shorter deadlines, and clearer language on grid service recognition. The structural reforms needed to truly modernise Europe’s grid governance will take longer. 

Meanwhile, charge point operators should prepare for a landscape where grid connections are faster than the multi-year waits of recent years. Priority access helps but doesn’t eliminate the need for thorough planning and early engagement with grid operators. Demonstrating grid service capability (V1G, V2G potential) in connection applications may also provide a competitive advantage going further. 

Some legislative provisions might get better while others might get watered down. But the direction is clear: for the first time, EU policy is treating EV charging infrastructure not as a grid problem to be managed, but as one of the most powerful tools we have to solve grid congestion. 

At Last Mile Solutions, we’re already supporting grid balancing services through smart charging across Europe. Want to learn more about how modern charging management systems can support grid stability while serving drivers?