Dr. Tim Meyer, an energy expert with 30 years of experience, will deliver a keynote at the CharIN Testival & Conference Europe 2026. He describes the electric vehicle as a "sleeping giant" that could bridge the gap between the energy and transport transitions in Germany.
Meyer argues that while the technical prerequisites for bidirectional charging are advancing, regulation and grid infrastructure are lagging. He identifies three critical gaps: electrification of consumption, flexibilisation of the system to handle volatile power, and the lagging distribution grids.
The expert highlights the potential of EV batteries, noting that a vehicle with 40 to 60 kWh capacity has more storage than a typical home battery. If 10 to 15 percent of the passenger car fleet, which consists of nearly 50 million vehicles, were connected, it would create storage capacities of several hundred gigawatt-hours.
According to a Fraunhofer study, bidirectional charging could relieve the energy system by over €8 billion per year. Meyer warns that failing to implement these functions could lead to competitive disadvantages for the automotive industry.
He calls for economic incentives for grid operators to prioritize intelligent energy transitions over traditional copper-based infrastructure. He also emphasizes the the need for standardization in energy industry processes and software systems to ensure scalability.
