The European Commission has approved a €780 million Dutch State aid scheme to support the production of renewable hydrogen under EU rules.
The scheme will support hydrogen made using electricity from renewable sources, produced via electrolysis — a process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity, the Commission announced on Thursday.
Aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process planned to be concluded by the first quarter of 2027.
Support will come as a direct grant combining an upfront investment grant of up to 80% of investment costs with a variable premium paid over five to 10 years.
Companies receiving support will have to show they meet EU criteria for producing renewable fuels of non-biological origin, known as RFNBOs — fuels made from renewable electricity rather than biomass — under the EU’s delegated acts on renewable hydrogen.
Expected output and earlier Dutch schemes
About 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity is expected to be built with aid from the scheme, and it is expected to incentivise production of up to 40 kilotonnes of renewable hydrogen a year, the Netherlands estimates.
The Dutch government also estimates the scheme would avoid around 324 kilotonnes of CO₂ annually.
The scheme follows two earlier Dutch schemes approved in July 2023 and July 2024 to support the build-out of electrolysis capacity in the Netherlands.
The Commission assessed the measure under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework adopted on 25 June 2025.
