OWE renewable hydrogen production subsidy
Grants for companies building and operating an electrolyser of at least 0.5 MW to produce hydrogen using wind or solar electricity.
Această oportunitate este disponibilă momentan în limba engleză.
OWE is temporarily closed. The terms below describe the 2024 round; RVO expects a further intake in Q4 2026.
The investment grant covers up to 80% of eligible installation costs, less investment grants already awarded. Eligible work includes the electrolyser, production equipment and dedicated site and connections. Hydrogen storage is limited to 24 hours of production, battery capacity to 1 MW and 2 MWh per MW of electrolyser input, and compression to a final pressure of 70 bar. Tube trailers and filling equipment, recoverable VAT and costs incurred before applying are excluded.
The separate operating grant pays for fully renewable kilograms actually produced over 5–10 whole years. It covers the difference between the approved hydrogen production price and an annual correction reflecting fossil-hydrogen costs, guarantee-of-origin value and relevant emissions-trading benefits. A correction floor limits support when fossil prices fall; payment can be zero when the correction exceeds the production price. This is not a fixed grant per kilogram.
In 2024, the combined investment and maximum operating request could not exceed €9 per planned renewable kilogram, or €499,165,000 per recipient. Applications competed on total requested and previously awarded investment and operating aid per MW; a lower amount ranked higher.
Eligibility
- Build and maintain the installation in the Netherlands, its territorial sea or its exclusive economic zone. Use a new electrolyser with at least 0.5 MW nominal direct-current input power.
- Electricity must come from wind or solar generation, through a direct line, the grid or both. Comply with EU Regulation 2023/1184: checks include the electricity plant’s commissioning and support, matching electricity generation to use, and geographic proximity. A competent conformity assessment body certifies the installation; guarantees of origin alone do not establish compliance. Grid-connected and dual-connected projects must also provide proof that electricity guarantees of origin have been cancelled for wind or solar generation covered by their power purchase agreements. If also producing non-renewable hydrogen, the combined output must cut greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 70% under EU Regulation 2023/1185.
- Apply before irreversible investment commitments or project-plan activities begin. A supply order conditional on receiving the subsidy is allowed. Preparatory front-end engineering may already have started, but pre-application costs are not funded. The project must need OWE to proceed without significant delay and cannot depend on other grants still to be awarded.
- SDE++ and earlier OWE support for the same installation are excluded. Previously awarded IPCEI or other permitted grants can be combined within OWE and state-aid limits, with prior investment support reducing the investment award. EIA tax deduction under equipment code 270403 is excluded; other equipment codes can qualify in principle.
- You may submit only one application per municipality per round. Connected group companies and joint ventures in which you participate count together as one applicant.
- Show technical, financial and economic feasibility, and support the expected hydrogen sales quantity and price with an agreement or letter of intent. If own equity excluding the OWE investment grant is below 20% of investment costs, provide a financier’s letter of intent; for multiple applications this test uses combined investment costs.
- For a grid or dual connection, supply a network operator’s available-capacity indication issued no more than four months before applying, and a wind/solar power supply offer covering at least the first three operating years. Direct-only installations do not need the grid-capacity indication. For operating advances, the legal rules require wind/solar power purchase agreements covering the first five years.
- Bring the installation into use within five years of the award. The minister can allow up to two extra years for delay on a request made in advance. Register with Verticer and obtain certification to receive operating support.
How to apply
- Statut
- închis
- Se deschide
- Se închide
- Condițiile sesiunii de finanțare
- Closed 2024 intake. RVO expects a new intake in Q4 2026; dates have not been announced.
No new applications can currently be submitted. Follow RVO’s OWE page for the announced reopening; new-round conditions apply when published. RVO says the application period will start six weeks after the rules are published in the Staatscourant and remain open for two weeks.
The verified route is RVO’s digital application portal with eHerkenning level 3 and an RVO-services eH3 authorisation. Prepare the project plan, supplier specification, investment budget and feasibility study, location-owner consent where needed, and the relevant permits. An environmental permit application must include proof that the authority has accepted it for processing; final permits are needed before investment advances. Include the grid-capacity indication and renewable power offer when applicable.
After award, report construction progress annually. Submit the completion report with accountant verification within 13 weeks of commissioning. During production, provide the verified annual renewable-hydrogen declaration before 1 June and a progress report every two calendar years. RVO reviews total public support and may reduce excessive aid.