Consortium grants for hydrogen stations and vehicles
SWIM supports business consortia combining hydrogen refuelling with vehicles or logistics equipment. The 2026 round is closed; the current regulation schedules the next round for 31 March–11 May 2027. Funding can reach €12 million, with separate station and fleet limits.
Ez a lehetőség jelenleg angolul érhető el.
The Subsidieregeling Waterstof in mobiliteit (SWIM) funds a new or upgraded hydrogen station together with qualifying vehicles and, optionally, logistics equipment. A consortium using a qualifying existing station or one already under construction can apply for vehicles/equipment alone. These are grants towards investment, with the consortium financing the remaining costs.
A heavy-road station receives up to 40% of eligible investment costs, capped at €3 million per application. A multimodal station—serving road freight plus rail, inland shipping or sea transport—has a €4 million station cap at the same rate. Up to three mobile hydrogen stores over the programme’s lifetime can be included when they supply the project station and act as its storage vessel. They may be purchased by another participant.
New vehicles/equipment receive up to 80% of the additional cost compared with the equivalent fossil-fuel model; converting an existing vehicle or machine receives support for qualifying drivetrain-conversion costs. The combined fleet/equipment award is capped at €4,000 multiplied by the station’s daily capacity in kilograms, and at €8 million per application. Individual limits also apply, so 80% is not guaranteed. Station and fleet components together can reach €12 million for a multimodal project.
Per-vehicle maxima are: N1 goods vans €60,000; N2 trucks €150,000 with a fuel cell or €50,000 with hydrogen combustion; N3 trucks below 30 tonnes €220,000/€70,000 respectively, or at least 30 tonnes €300,000/€100,000. The N3 threshold uses the permitted maximum combination weight, including trailers where applicable. M1 wheelchair-accessible passenger vehicles have a €100,000 cap, M2 buses €150,000, and M3 buses €300,000 with fuel cells or €100,000 with hydrogen combustion. Handling machines, qualifying forklifts and telehandlers have €100,000 caps; aircraft pushback trucks and terminal tractors €300,000.
Show that your own share can be financed, for example with recent accounts or firm loan/investment commitments. Other subsidies for the project are deducted from SWIM funding and unlawful accumulation of aid is prohibited. From 2026, a SWIM-supported investment cannot also receive MIA/Vamil tax benefits.
Eligibility
A lead applicant submits for a consortium containing at least a hydrogen-station operator and a transport/logistics business. Every participant needs Chamber of Commerce registration and a Dutch establishment. Provinces, municipalities, water boards, public-law autonomous administrative bodies with legal personality and public bodies under the intermunicipal-cooperation law cannot participate.
The project’s supported vehicles/equipment must create average hydrogen demand of at least 300 kg/day, calculated using the regulation’s standard daily-consumption figures. At least half must come from new or converted heavy-road vehicles in categories M3, N2 or N3. N2 goods vehicles have maximum permitted mass above 3.5 and up to 12 tonnes; N3 exceeds 12 tonnes. M2 buses have more than eight passenger seats and a maximum permitted mass of at most 5 tonnes; M3 buses have more than eight passenger seats and a maximum permitted mass above 5 tonnes. M1 support is limited to wheelchair-accessible passenger vehicles with up to eight passenger seats, with at least four passenger seats alongside wheelchair accessibility, as documented in the quote.
Stations need at least 1,000 kg/day capacity, two independently working dispensers and a permit or permit application expressly covering heavy-road use. Technical accessibility alone is insufficient. In the vehicle-only route, provide the station’s permit. Public stations must offer 350 bar and 700 bar dispensing, card or contactless-card payment and transparent, comparable, non-discriminatory prices. Restricted consortium stations can qualify, but do not receive public-access priority. Multimodal stations serving water transport must offer access on equal market terms; an inland-shipping component requesting more than €2.2 million needs a calculation deducting projected operating profit from eligible costs.
New vehicle first admission, first Dutch registration and registration to the owner must coincide. New equipment must be unused. Fuel cells are required except that N2/N3 trucks and M3 buses may use qualifying hydrogen-combustion engines. Conversions must result in a qualifying zero-emission vehicle or machine. Supported equipment includes handling machines, forklifts with lifting capacity above 5 tonnes, telehandlers, aircraft pushback trucks and terminal tractors, all fuel-cell powered.
For leased vehicles, the owner receives the grant: the lessee under financial lease, or the leasing company under operational lease. An operational lessor must join the consortium; the vehicle can be registered to its customer using an RDW ownership-transfer restriction. This preserves the leasing company’s interest in the registration record.
Stations receiving construction/upgrade support must commit to supplying only renewable hydrogen by 31 December 2035. Until then, permitted supplies include renewable hydrogen, fossil-based hydrogen with carbon capture and storage, hydrogen made from certified green gas, or chlor-alkali by-product hydrogen made using certified renewable electricity. Renewable hydrogen earns extra ranking points when supplied exclusively and must be evidenced with RFNBO certificates, confirming renewable fuel of non-biological origin.
Apply before project work begins and before purchasing/registering the relevant new assets. Participants must pass the EU undertaking-in-difficulty test: this can exclude a business even when it has cash in the bank, including insolvency conditions or ongoing rescue/restructuring aid. RVO’s official decision tree checks the relevant financial and group situation. SMEs younger than three years have a limited assessment but still face those basic conditions; this is not a blanket exemption.
How to apply
- Állapot
- megnyílik 2027. márc. 31.
- Megnyílik
- Lezárul
The 2026 window ran from 1 April 09:00 to 13 May 17:00. The current regulation sets the next window at 31 March 2027,09:00 to 11 May 2027,17:00, Netherlands time. The 2026 budget was €45 million:€35 million for station-investment projects and €10 million for fleet-only projects, with unused amounts transferable between the two routes. Check the official page when preparing for the next round.
The lead submits RVO’s application with partner details, project financing, station capacity and permits, standardised hydrogen-demand calculations and delivery planning. Vehicle/equipment quotations and fossil-model price evidence must be less than six months old; each application needs its own unique quotations. Submit only one application per station location per round. Applicant-initiated additions after the deadline are not assessed.
Awards are ranked competitively. Station projects score on subsidy efficiency, permit maturity, capacity/scalability, independent dispensers, public access and exclusively renewable hydrogen. Public stations in the municipalities listed in annex 1 or within 10 driving kilometres of their borders receive the stated priority; it applies to only the highest-ranked qualifying application per listed municipality. Fleet-only projects score better when requesting a lower subsidy percentage. RVO decides within 13 weeks after closure.
An approved project receives a 50% advance through the lead, which distributes participants’ shares. A further 25% can be requested once at least 75% of the heavy vehicles have been acquired, evidenced by their registrations. Advances are provisional: final settlement checks actual eligible delivery and determines the award, with the remaining balance paid afterward; unmet conditions can reduce funding or trigger repayment.
Finish within 36 months of award. Delay outside the participants’ control may justify an approved extension, but total duration cannot exceed 48 months. Submit annual progress reports and obtain prior approval for material changes. Request final settlement within 13 weeks of project end, with contracts, registrations and hydrogen-supply evidence. Participants requesting more than €125,000 must provide invoices/payment evidence and explain cost variances of 10% or more.
Keep new vehicles registered to the beneficiary for 48 months from registration; converted vehicles must remain owned for 48 months from the conversion contract, and equipment for 48 months from its purchase/conversion contract. A qualifying replacement vehicle without a new subsidy can preserve the remaining obligation. Early disposal without such replacement can cause proportional repayment. Cooperate with programme evaluation for five years after final settlement.