The EU has greenlit a €780m ($900m) Dutch state aid scheme to support up to 400MW of green hydrogen production capacity.
The package will award funding by early 2027 through a competitive bidding process, with selected projects receiving 10-year variable per-kilogramme subsidies and direct grants covering up to 80% of investment costs.
Hydrogen from recipients must comply with the EU’s renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBO) criteria.
It follows EU sign-off on the Netherlands’ €290m ($333.4m) sustainable aviation fuel initiative, which encompasses hydrogen-based fuels, and its $103m ($117m) green maritime fuels vessel investment scheme, bringing the tranche of investments to almost €1.18bn ($1.36bn).
The Netherlands is positioning itself as a leading north-west European hydrogen hub, capitalising on extensive gas infrastructure, industrial clusters, and major ports to support the production and import of green hydrogen.
The Port of Rotterdam in particular has become home to huge clean hydrogen investments, and Dutch gas transmission system operators are working closely with neighbours to embed the country in the region’s planned hydrogen pipeline network.
While the Netherlands missed the May 2025 deadline to transpose the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive III, it has since implemented key elements, including the transport and accelerated renewable energy permitting provisions.
Phased amendments to national legislation have brought the country broadly into alignment with many of the directive’s requirements.
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