Global electricity demand from electric vehicle charging could surpass 1,500 terawatt-hours by 2035, roughly six times 2025 levels, according to the International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2026. The figure is drawn from the IEA’s Current Policies Scenario, which models outcomes with no change to current policies. It underscores the scale of the grid load challenge now confronting utilities and regulators on every continent.
A sixfold rise in a decade
With no change to current policies, electricity demand from EVs could exceed 1,500 TWh by 2035, growing around sixfold from 2025 levels.
While significant in absolute terms, that increase would raise total global electricity demand in 2035 by only about 4 percent.
The regional impacts diverge sharply: across Europe, EV deployment in road transport increases total electricity demand by more than 10 percent in 2035, compared with an increase of under 6 percent in China.
In the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario, electricity demand for EVs reaches 1,700 TWh in 2035, about 10 percent higher than in the Current Policies Scenario, driven by rising consumption from electric trucks and higher EV adoption in more markets. Either figure represents a demand curve that utilities are only beginning to plan around.
Ultra-fast chargers accelerate the load problem
Technological advances are improving EV charging times and creating opportunities to reduce peak demand on the grid. New power-electronics materials, battery cell technologies and battery pack architectures are enabling charging systems that are more efficient and higher voltage, and therefore faster.
The first 1,000-volt models came out in 2025, and announcements of charging times of under 10 minutes have continued into 2026.
The number of electric cars able to use chargers above 250 kW represents less than 5 percent of the vehicle stock, but sales are growing alongside the expansion of ultra-fast and megawatt-scale chargers.
That mix matters for grid operators, as the expansion of higher-power charging points places growing demands on local distribution networks.
Poorly optimized charging infrastructure can significantly increase peak power demand, raising costs and increasing grid connection timelines. In some cases, shifting part of the charging load to daytime or off-peak periods can reduce maximum depot power demand by up to 60 percent.
Smart charging and V2G as the relief valve
Measures such as smart charging, which reduces peak demand by shifting charging loads, or vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows EVs to feed electricity back to the grid, can offer additional flexibility.
The first commercial offers for V2G for private EV owners appeared in 2025, although few V2G-capable models are available, the regulatory landscape for V2G remains fragmented, and standards are not yet clear.
The DOE’s Office of Electricity has separately published EV grid integration resources, finding that EVs and the grid can have a symbiotic relationship. EVs have flexibility in terms of where and how long they use energy to charge, may sit idle for long periods, and energy stored in their batteries can be used for non-transportation applications.
Meeting growing energy demand from EV charging will require investments in infrastructure and approaches that take advantage of demand and supply flexibility.
Research cited by the DOE found that a majority of feeders in California alone will need capacity upgrades by 2045, requiring tens of gigawatts of upgrades at an estimated cost of billions of dollars.
That finding mirrors broader concerns about EV charging billing models, with each of California’s three big utilities operating a distinct peak-demand structure that national operators still lack.
Grid connection delays a mounting bottleneck
Grid connection delays remain a major bottleneck for electric bus and truck depot deployment, especially for large depots with a high concentration of charging points.
In urban areas, limited substation capacity, long permitting procedures and the need for network reinforcements can delay charging depots by several years, directly slowing fleet renewal plans.
Co-locating charging hubs with battery storage can further ease grid connection requirements, lower infrastructure costs and accelerate deployment, especially given today’s record-low battery prices.
That strategy is gaining ground in the US, where utilities have started treating large charging depots as industrial-scale interconnection cases, a shift that mirrors the approach already in use for large data center loads under Oregon’s new POWER Act rate structure.
The IEA’s projection of electricity demand from EVs exceeding 1,500 TWh by 2035, growing around sixfold from 2025 levels, while raising total global electricity demand by only about 4 percent, arrives as grid planners are confronting a compounding demand curve: EV charging layered on top of data center growth, industrial loads and a general electrification push. Whether smart charging programs and V2G pilots can scale fast enough to keep that demand from hitting grids as uncontrolled evening peaks is the central operational question the industry now faces heading into the late 2020s.
