Beyond compliance: How manufacturers can win with the EU Data Act

Today, the EU Data Act becomes fully applicable across the EU. For device manufacturers, energy apps and aggregators, this marks a significant milestone.

The past few years have been about preparing. From today, the focus shifts to doing: making device data open and portable, enabling user choice, and creating services that thrive in an open ecosystem.

The companies that see this as more than compliance will be the ones that win.

Compliance is the starting line

By now, every device manufacturer should be ready to:

• Provide user access to device-generated data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Put in place user consent and access systems.
• Enable data portability and switching.

Non-compliance is risky, with fines and reputational costs that go beyond the regulation itself. But compliance is just the baseline.

Winning means building for openness

With the regulation live, the real differentiator becomes user experience and interoperability.

• Compatibility will become a key buying factor. An EV charger that can be controlled through an energy app to unlock a cheaper charging tariff will be far more valuable than one locked in a closed ecosystem.
• User experience as the differentiator. Consent flows, switching processes, and integrations need to be simple and intuitive.
• Partnerships as growth drivers. The most valuable devices will be those that are easiest to integrate into multiple ecosystems.

In other words: the winners won’t just comply. They’ll turn openness into a product feature.

A checklist for readiness

To both comply with the regulation and meet rising user expectations, manufacturers of EVs, chargers, solar inverters, and home batteries need to make sure they have the following in place:

1. API quality. The clearest way to deliver on the Data Act is through open, secure APIs. They should be robust, well-documented, and designed to handle consent-driven sharing of device data.
2. Integration support. Make it easy for energy apps and aggregators to connect. Provide clear developer resources and documentation so integrations can scale quickly.
3. User authentication. Use secure, standardized methods like OAuth to give users control over who accesses their data, and confidence that the process is safe.
4. User-centric design. Keep consent and portability flows transparent and simple. End users should have clarity over where their data is going, and simple ways to manage or revoke access.
5. Think beyond one-off integrations. Building scalable platform partnerships expands app coverage, speeds launches, and keeps you relevant as new apps emerge.
6. Customer transparency. Proactively inform users where and how they can access their data: and highlight the use cases it can unlock, from cheaper charging tariffs to smarter home optimization.

Lessons from fintech

Open Banking provides a clear precedent.

When PSD2 came into force, some banks did the bare minimum to comply. They became harder to work with and lost relevance as customers moved to services that offered better digital experiences. Others leaned in, building strong APIs and partnering with fintechs. Those banks became the default partners for services like account aggregation, instant payments, and personal finance tools: and in the process, they won the trust of both existing and new customers.

The same opportunity exists in energy today. The EU Data Act sets the rules, but it’s up to companies to decide whether they want to just comply, or compete and lead.

The opportunity ahead

The next wave of innovation in energy will be built on open APIs. From energy-as-a-service models to dynamic EV charging and super-apps for home optimization, the potential is enormous.

“The companies that see today as the end of compliance and the beginning of opportunity will be the ones shaping the open energy ecosystem,” says Mathilde Kverneland, Senior Partnerships Manager at Enode.

Closing the series

With the EU Data Act now live, the countdown is over. But the work is just beginning.

In the coming weeks, we’ll publish a full report: “The EU Data Act: What it means for the energy industry”, bringing together insights from this series and exploring how the industry can thrive in the new era of open energy.

Stay tuned.