New Course: Bidirectional Charging in the LadeLernTOOL

The National Charging Infrastructure Coordination Center is expanding its LadeLernTOOL with a new compact course on bidirectional charging. The course provides practical insights into the fundamentals, potential, and current regulatory framework of this technology.

This free e-learning program is aimed primarily at municipal decision-makers and planning professionals. In addition, energy providers, municipal utilities, grid operators, and companies with charging infrastructure or electric fleets can also benefit.

The 30-minute course covers topics ranging from technical fundamentals to economic, legal, and practical issues. Participants will learn how electric vehicles can be used as flexible energy storage systems in the future and what role they could play in a stable and sustainable energy system.

Johannes Pallasch, Head and Spokesman of the National Charging Infrastructure Control Center: „Bidirectional charging offers great potential for making electric mobility even more attractive to users. In our course, we teach the necessary foundational knowledge and demonstrate what is already possible today. At the same time, we are still in the early stages of development and need to better understand how people will use the various applications in their daily lives in the future.“

In three interconnected thematic modules, the course covers key aspects of bidirectional charging: It explains the differences between controlled charging and bidirectional applications such as Vehicle-to-Home, Vehicle-to-Building, and Vehicle-to-Grid. It also examines technical and organizational requirements—from vehicles and wallboxes to communication standards and smart metering systems. Another focus is on current market trends, specific application examples, and a realistic assessment of opportunities and existing challenges. The compact course is designed to last about 30 minutes, plus about five minutes for the final test.

Interactive elements such as hotspots, flipcards, and hands-on exercises support the learning process and enable direct knowledge transfer. At the same time, the course addresses common myths surrounding bidirectional charging and sets the record straight. These include, for example, concerns that bidirectional charging places a heavy strain on the vehicle battery or that range may be lost when electricity is fed back into the grid. This provides participants with a well-founded and objective overview of the current state of the art. Upon successful completion, participants receive a certificate attesting to the knowledge they have acquired in the field of bidirectional charging.

The LadeLernTOOL is available free of charge after a brief registration process. Together with the StandortTOOL, the FlächenTOOL, and the MasterplanTOOL, the LadeLernTOOL is one of the four core tools in the TOOLBox that provide municipalities with tailored, data-driven support for expanding local charging infrastructure. All TOOLs are provided by the National Charging Infrastructure Coordination Center under the umbrella of NOW GmbH.

To the LadeLernTOOL

To the TOOLBox 

On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure has been coordinating and managing activities to expand the charging infrastructure in Germany since 2019 under the umbrella of the federally owned NOW GmbH. It provides support in planning, implementing and promoting the charging infrastructure. It collects relevant data in order to better understand the demand for charging points. It networks all key players and passes on its knowledge. It always has the users in mind.