The invention relates to inductive energy transmission from a primary coil (12) to a secondary coil (22) having an additional operating state. By means of this two-sided regulation, a primary-side and secondary-side control of the power electronics is performed in accordance with a predetermined operational strategy. Thus, even in the case of unfavorable coupling factors, for example, the efficiency of the inductive energy transmission can be increased, the magnetic field in the air gap between the primary coil (12) and the secondary coil (22) can be minimized, and the inductive energy transmission can be optimized. This optimized operational strategy is enabled by means of a newly introduced idle state, which permits periodic short-circuiting of the secondary side by means of switches on the secondary side (S5, S6) of the inductive energy transmission system. The invention is preferably used in the charging of the battery of an electric vehicle (4), but other applications are also possible.