The government wants to promote the use of hydrogen in industry and transport through legal obligations.
In an attempt to realize a climate-neutral energy system and a sustainable industry, the Netherlands and Europe are sharpening their ambitions in hydrogen technology. According to ministers Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) and Rob Jetten (Climate and Energy), the realization of these goals requires an assertive and decisive policy that focuses on both the production and consumption of hydrogen.
To take the hydrogen market to a higher level, the government has taken measures to subsidize electrolysis and to encourage the industry to use more and more renewable hydrogen from 2026 through subsidies and legal obligations. An impressive amount of € 9 billion has been reserved for this in the Climate Fund.
In addition to a policy aimed at the import of hydrogen, the government is also making efforts to stimulate the domestic demand for and supply of hydrogen. The Climate Agreement of the Netherlands sets a target of at least 4 Gigawatts of electrolysis capacity (the process to produce green hydrogen) in 2030, with a target of 8 Gigawatts in 2032. Whether these targets will be achieved depends strongly on the roll-out of offshore wind energy, the expansion of the energy infrastructure and the demand for electricity from large consumers such as industry.
The government's first policy focus is to increase the production of renewable hydrogen through various subsidy programmes. On top of the existing subsidies for electrolysis (such as SDE++ and IPCEI), the cabinet will release an extra €2024 billion in 1. For the following years, the government has set aside € 3,9 billion for the expansion of renewable hydrogen production. With the Main Energy Structure Program, locations in the Netherlands are selected for the installation of electrolysers (hydrogen factories). The granting of a € 300 million subsidy under the H2Global initiative gives a significant boost to the import of hydrogen to Northwest Europe. In addition, the cabinet is working on the necessary infrastructure for the transport and storage of hydrogen.
“We are strengthening our energy relations for the import of hydrogen, but we also want to significantly increase hydrogen production in the Netherlands. We are investing heavily in this ambition, in line with the major goals that we as a country have set for the development of hydrogen. Achieving our CO2 targets is a top priority, and hydrogen is a vital link in these efforts.”
The government wants to promote the use of hydrogen in industry and transport through both subsidies and legal obligations. Pending an agreement within the European Union on binding targets for hydrogen, the government wants the industry to increasingly use renewable hydrogen.
The government aims to make the necessary investments for the use of renewable hydrogen more attractive. In this line, the ministry is investigating the possibility of introducing subsidies for hydrogen users, which would cover the costs of adapting installations or using renewable hydrogen.
