The India-European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC) held its second workshop on electric vehicle (EV) charging technologies from 15 to 17 March 2026 at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy. The workshop focused on strengthening cooperation on standardisation, smart and bidirectional charging, megawatt charging systems, and wireless power transfer.
The programme brought together policymakers, technical experts, standards bodies, research institutions, and industry representatives from India and the European Union to discuss harmonised and interoperable EV charging ecosystems. Sessions covered policy and regulatory developments, charging infrastructure requirements, and communication protocols including the Open Charge Point Protocol and ISO 15118-21 for vehicle-to-grid communication.
Technical discussions included megawatt charging systems for heavy-duty vehicles, vehicle-to-grid integration and bidirectional charging, and wireless power transfer technologies. Participants also visited JRC laboratories, including interoperability, electromagnetic compatibility, e-mobility, and smart grid testing facilities supporting EV charging and grid integration research.
The workshop took place against the backdrop of a free trade agreement concluded between India and the European Union in January 2026. The agreement is expected to strengthen trade and investment flows, including in the automotive sector, by addressing tariffs and market access barriers. However, differences in technical norms, certification approaches, and infrastructure standards continue to affect cross-border movement of vehicles, components, batteries, and charging systems.
Participants highlighted the need for alignment of technical standards, testing methodologies, and certification procedures to support implementation of the agreement. Harmonisation of EV charging technologies, including plug types and communication systems, was identified as a key area to enable interoperability and facilitate market adoption.
The Joint Research Centre is contributing to this effort through scientific and technical work on vehicle energy certification and EV infrastructure harmonisation. Collaboration between JRC and ARAI includes development of Bharat-VECTO, based on the European Commission’s Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool, to align methodologies for certifying vehicle energy consumption and emissions while reducing duplicate testing requirements.
In an official statement, the Government of India said the workshop was organised under TTC Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies, with participation from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA), the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), the Joint Research Centre, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), and the EU Delegation to India.
“India-EU cooperation in creating trusted, interoperable, and future-ready charging ecosystems for clean mobility transition is important,” said Rakesh Kaur, Adviser/Scientist-‘G’, OPSA.
Participants included representatives from Tata Motors, Fraunhofer Society, Open Charge Alliance, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, SCANIA/TRATON, Industrial Vehicles Corporation (IVECO)/TATA, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), Alpitronic, Argonne National Laboratories, University of Mumbai, ENEDIS, ENEL X, ELLI, CharIN, IIT Madras, DELTA, and BRUSA.
The workshop concluded with a reaffirmation of continued cooperation between India and the European Union to advance interoperable, standardised, and secure EV charging ecosystems integrated with smart grids.
The India-European Union Trade and Technology Council is a bilateral platform for collaboration on trade, technology, and sustainable development, including clean energy and mobility systems.
