SSEB Innovatie — develop and test cleaner construction machinery
Grants help businesses established in the Netherlands develop and test cleaner construction machinery and its charging or refuelling infrastructure before commercial use.
Diese Finanzierungsmöglichkeit ist derzeit auf Englisch beschrieben.
SSEB Innovatie supports two kinds of experimental development: creating and testing a prototype, or gaining practical experience with machinery in realistic working conditions. Practical projects can address charging, grid connections, safety, work planning, training, insurance or contracts alongside improving how the machines work. The supported work must improve products, processes or services that are not yet settled.
Eligible costs include staff, depreciation of equipment and buildings or land, research and advice, and project-related overheads and materials. Electricity generation to supply charging is excluded.
The grant is capped at €1.5 million per project. Large businesses receive 25% of eligible costs; micro, small and medium-sized businesses receive 35%. An extra 15 percentage points is available if at least one of these conditions applies:
- Results are widely shared through conferences, publications, open-access repositories, or free or open-source software.
- Businesses collaborate, at least one participating business is an SME, and no business bears more than 70% of eligible costs.
- Businesses collaborate with research and knowledge-dissemination organisations that bear at least 10% of eligible costs and have the right to publish their own research results.
This makes the eligible rates 40% for large businesses or 50% for SMEs when the extra conditions are met. If you use SSEB Aanschaf to buy machines for the project, those machines cannot also receive SSEB Innovatie support; other eligible project costs can still receive innovation funding.
Eligibility
- A business with an establishment in the Netherlands can apply alone or lead a collaboration with other businesses, NGOs or publicly funded research organisations. The lead applicant must be a business, and applicants must be able to carry out the development. Activities must take place in the Netherlands.
- Apply before starting the project. You and your partners participate at your own risk and cost. Every partner must demonstrate sufficient finance for the whole share of costs left after the grant; the application also requires evidence that each pays at least 10% of eligible costs.
- The work must develop or deploy zero-emission construction machinery, machinery with engines that burn only hydrogen, or the supporting charging or refuelling infrastructure. Zero-emission examples are lead-free battery machines, fuel cells using non-fossil hydrogen carriers, and machinery powered through a cable from the grid.
- Projects normally last no more than two years. If demonstrated force majeure causes delay, you can request an extension of up to half the original project duration.
- RVO must score the project at least 70 out of 100. It assesses technical development or practical experience, nitrogen-oxide (NOx) reduction, follow-on projects, knowledge sharing, objectives, speed of results, management, budget and collaboration. Your objectives should explain reductions in NOx, CO2 and fine particles and what distinguishes the innovation from existing alternatives. Show credible follow-on opportunities within one year after the project and explain the business case.
- No participant may be an “undertaking in difficulty” under the EU state-aid rules. Use RVO's decision tree to answer the relevant financial questions and calculations, then sign the declaration if you pass. For a linked business group, the decision tree also assesses the highest business in the group. Cash in the bank alone does not settle this test.
- The same project cannot receive a second grant under this SSEB innovation chapter. Combining public support must not exceed the applicable maximum state-aid intensity. If permission to operate on roads, rail or water is essential, demonstrate that consultation with RDW or the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has taken place or will take place during the project.
How to apply
- Status
- geschlossen
- Antragsbeginn
- Antragsschluss
- Beschränkungen dieser Antragsrunde
- Budget oversubscribed; applications still accepted because rejected applications may release funds.[^c18]
Apply through RVO's online portal using eHerkenning level 3 and authorisation for RVO services at level 3. You can first send RVO a project idea using the form linked from its official page to receive adviser feedback.
Use RVO's required project-plan template and model budget. If your project includes both technical development and practical experience, choose the type under which you expect the stronger score. Include the SME declaration where applicable, a signed collaboration agreement and lead-applicant authorisations for each partner, evidence of each partner's financial contribution, and the required no-undertaking-in-difficulty documents: declaration, decision tree, consolidated accounts no older than 18 months and organisation chart.
Explain your research questions, approach, intended results and how you will share knowledge. For the NOx assessment, show the reduction per machine category and potential reduction across the Dutch machine fleet in 2030. RVO's manual provides a recommended standard calculation using TNO reference emissions, operating hours and national machine numbers, rather than just machines in your project or your expected sales. A justified alternative is allowed; explain why the standard method does not fit, support your figures and assumptions, and include sources. RVO recommends also submitting the standard calculation.
The 2026 intake remains open, but the budget is oversubscribed. RVO continues accepting applications because rejected applications may release funds. Complete applications that score at least 70 are handled in order of receipt; applications received on the day funds run out are ranked, with a lottery for equal rankings. No more than two experimental-development grants may be awarded to one applicant in the intake period.
After an award, report progress annually and provide a final report with a public section. Report changes to RVO; certain changes need prior permission. Request final settlement within four months of completing the project. For a grant of €125,000 or more, include financial accountability and an accountant's audit statement; explain actual costs that differ by at least 10% from a budget line.