Amendment to AFIR: ISO 15118 becomes mandatory for AC-charging stations

The amendments to the AFIR published by the EU Commission in June of this year call for mandatory support of EN ISO 15118 in AC charging stations. The AFIR applies throughout Europe.

The following cut-off dates are relevant and must be taken into account by manufacturers and operators:

• 08 January 2026
  Support of EN ISO 15118-2:2016 by all newly installed publicly accessible charging stations
• 01 January 2027
  Support of EN ISO15118-20:2022 by all newly installed public and private charging stations (Mode3 charging points)

On 18 June 2025, the EU made changes to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). These supplement and specify the existing AFIR regulations with the aim of further improving the infrastructure for alternative fuels, including the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The AFIR requirements are valid throughout the EU and the specified deadlines apply to renewed or fundamentally converted AC charging stations.

The EN-ISO 15118 standard extends the communication options between the charging station and the vehicle. It is essential for the implementation of new functions.
This includes all ‘Plug and Charge’ services and, in future, bidirectional charging. The ISO15118 standards basically describe interfaces, protocols and functions. These standards must be supported by the charging station and vehicle.  EN ISO 15118 is already being used for DC charging and is supported by charging stations and vehicles throughout Europe.

Bender charge controller and EN ISO 15118
Bender charge controllers fulfil the technical requirements for implementing the ISO 15118 standards. The hardware required for communication between the vehicle and the charging station is included in Bender charge controllers with Power Line Communication (PLC) right from the start. In 2024, all Bender charge controllers with PLC were certified for Plug&Charge by Hubject. This functionality described in EN ISO15118-2:2016 was added via a software update (>5.33x).

The PLC hardware used for high-level communication supports other intelligent charging functions such as autocharge or smart charging. Such functions also require digital bidirectional communication between the vehicle and the charging station. It significantly extends the previous standard communication via (analogue) PWM signals and enables real data exchange. 

The functionality of Bender charge controllers is consistently expanded through regular software updates, so that new and extended requirements such as those of EN ISO15118-20:2022 can be integrated as software updates. The use of a Bender charge controller ensures the long-term operation of a charging station.

EU and AFIR
With the regulation, the European Commission also aims to improve the interoperability and user-friendliness of the charging infrastructure in the EU and to ensure a seamless charging experience for electric vehicle owners.  The aim is to ensure that charging electric cars is simple and problem-free everywhere in the EU.

Regulation (EU) 2025/656, published in the Official Journal of the EU on 18 June 2025, supplements AFIR (EU) 2023/1804 of 13 September 2023 and concerns AC charging stations (Mode 3) that will be installed and operated in private and publicly accessible areas in the future. This regulation contains detailed requirements and technical specifications that must be met by operators and also manufacturers of charging infrastructure, including support for ISO 15118 standards. The AFIR replaced the AFID (directive) as a regulation in 2023. A regulation is directly valid in all EU member states and does not have to be implemented by national legislation like a directive. The AFID was transposed into national law in Germany by the Charging Station Ordinance (LSV).

Further information from Bender on AFIR.

Plug&Charge services
Hubject certification applies to all Bender charge controllers with PLC. Also for already delivered and older charge controller models. Bender has already completed the complex Hubject certification process for its charge controllers.
This means that manufacturers can also add Plug&Charge functionality to AC charging stations with Bender charge controllers that are already in operation without having to make any changes to the hardware. The charging station manufacturer must register its desired products with Hubject so that its customers or CPOs can use the Plug&Charge functionality throughout Europe.

Autocharge and Smart Charging
Autocharge is a function in which the charging station uses the MAC address of the vehicle to authorise the charging process by means of high-level communication.
When using Smart Charging, for example, the vehicle can communicate its preferred charging profile directly to the charging station: For example, when should charging be prioritised. This can help to optimise charging times, increase the proportion of renewable energies in the charging current or save electricity costs.

Summary of the changes to the AFIR relevant to AC charging stations

1. Mandatory implementation of EN ISO 15118-2:2016 for all newly installed or renovated publicly accessible AC charging points from 08 January 2026.
2. From 01 January 2027, the mandatory implementation of EN ISO 15118-20:2022 is required for all newly installed or renovated publicly accessible and private Mode 3 charging points.
3. This also means that publicly accessible AC charging points must fulfil EN ISO 15118-2:2016 and EN ISO 15118-20:2022 from 01 January 2027.

Supported Bender charge controllers

The following characteristics must be fulfilled:

• Powerline communication (via integrated PLC hardware)
• OCPP support
• Software version from 5.33.3