Innovation Fund, SDE++ and WBSO in the Netherlands

Which scheme for which project

Each scheme has its own purpose and its own applicant. The overview for 2026, with the official source:

Scheme	For what	Who applies	Source
EU Innovation Fund, grants	Innovative low-carbon technologies in energy-intensive industry, carbon capture, renewable energy, energy storage, and factories for clean-tech parts such as electrolysers. Up to 60% of the relevant costs.	A legal entity from any country, for a project in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein	European Commission, January 2026
European Hydrogen Bank auction, part of the Innovation Fund	Production of renewable hydrogen, and in one topic also low-carbon hydrogen from electrolysis. A fixed premium per kilogram for up to 10 years.	The project developer, for a plant in the European Economic Area (EEA) with at least 5 megawatts (MWe) of new electrolyser capacity at one site	European Commission, draft terms of July 2026
Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition (SDE++)	Large-scale renewable energy and CO2 reduction, such as hydrogen from electrolysers of at least 500 kilowatts, and CO2 capture and storage. It covers the unprofitable part for 12 or 15 years.	The intended producer: a company or a non-profit organisation, with the required permits at the time of application	Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), August 2026
Wet Bevordering Speur- en Ontwikkelingswerk (WBSO), the Dutch tax credit for R&D	Development of technically new products, production processes or software, and technical-scientific research. It pays back part of the wage costs of the R&D project.	An entrepreneur for Dutch income tax or corporate tax. An employer pays Dutch payroll tax for its R&D staff. The project takes place in an EU member state.	RVO, August and September 2026

Which scheme suits your project depends on the plant, the site, the planning and the company. That check is the first step of every application.

EU Innovation Fund: the 2025 call and the calls from December 2026

The Innovation Fund is one of the largest funding programmes in the world for net-zero and innovative technologies. Its money comes from the EU Emissions Trading System. From 2020 to 2030, the fund may reach about €40 billion, at a carbon price of €75 per tonne (European Commission, 2025). Calls usually start at the end of the year.

The 2025 call for net-zero technologies

The call closed on 23 April 2026, with a budget of €2.9 billion over five topics. 358 projects from 27 countries asked for €17.5 billion in total (European Commission, May 2026). External experts score each proposal. The call document plans the results for October to November 2026, and the grant agreements for November 2026 to March 2027.

The calls from December 2026

Call	Planned dates	Budget and project size
Net-zero technologies	Start in December 2026, closing in April 2027	Four topics: large projects with investment costs above €100 million, small and medium projects from €2.5 million to €100 million, clean-tech manufacturing and critical raw materials, and pilots. The clean-tech topic covers the manufacturing of parts for renewable energy, energy storage, heat pumps and hydrogen production.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a new call	Call texts in December 2026 and April 2027; cut-off dates at the end of March 2027 and the end of September 2027	€200 million planned, for projects with investment costs from €2.5 million to €20 million
Heat auction	Bidding expected from early December 2026	€1 billion planned, for industrial heat above 80 °C, for projects of every size and industrial sector in the EEA. Technologies include heat pumps, thermal storage, plasma torches, electric boilers, and solar thermal and geothermal heat. A fixed premium per tonne of direct CO2 avoided, for up to five years.
Hydrogen auction	December 2026 to February 2027	Up to €500 million, with the terms in the next section

A new maritime call is planned for December 2026 as well (European Commission, 2026).

How the assessment works

Grants. Experts score five criteria: greenhouse gas emissions avoided, degree of innovation, project maturity, replicability and cost efficiency. In the 2025 call, a general topic gave up to 75 points, bonus points included, with a minimum score per criterion, such as 9 of 15 points for innovation (call document, January 2026).
Grant size. Up to 60% of the relevant costs. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is the EU agency for the Innovation Fund calls. Up to 40% of the grant can be paid on agreed milestones, before the project is in full operation (CINEA, 2026).
Auctions. The price decides: bids are ranked from lowest to highest, until the budget is used (European Commission, 2026).
Applicants. Legal entities established in any country in the world, for a project in an EU member state, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein (call document, January 2026).

European Hydrogen Bank: the third auction and the fourth

The European Hydrogen Bank auctions are part of the Innovation Fund. Each bid is a fixed premium in euros per kilogram of hydrogen. Your plant receives the premium for up to 10 years, on certified and verified production (European Commission, 2026).

The third auction. Bids were due by 19 February 2026. 58 bids came in, for a budget of €1.3 billion. The Commission first selected 9 projects in 7 countries, for €1.09 billion. In June 2026, four projects from the reserve list followed, with €147.73 million, for 13 projects in total. The selected projects are expected to install almost 1.1 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity (European Commission, June 2026).

The fourth auction. Planned from December 2026 to February 2027, with up to €500 million: a suggested €350 million for renewable hydrogen, and a suggested €150 million for renewable or low-carbon hydrogen from electrolysis. Countries in the EEA can add national money for projects on their own territory (European Commission, 2026).

The draft terms of 9 July 2026 ask for:

a plant in the EEA, with at least 5 MWe of newly installed electrolyser capacity at one location;
a maximum bid of €4 per kilogram of hydrogen;
a grant of up to €175 million per bid for renewable hydrogen, and up to €150 million in the second topic;
financial close within 2.5 years, and entry into operation within 5 years after the grant agreement is signed;
electrolyser stacks from a country other than China, for at least 75% of the electrolysers;
a completion guarantee of 8% of the maximum grant, and a letter of intent from a bank with the bid.

The final terms are published when the call starts, and the call documents are the binding version (European Commission, July 2026).

SDE++ 2026: dates, budget and ranking

The SDE++ supports companies and non-profit organisations that produce renewable energy on a large scale or reduce CO2 emissions (RVO, 2026). It covers the unprofitable part of a technology: the gap between its cost and the market value of what it produces. The subsidy lasts 12 or 15 years, depending on the technology (RVO, 2025).

Round 2026	Details
Dates	From Tuesday 27 October 2026, 9:00, to Thursday 26 November 2026, 17:00. The round starts one month later than planned, so companies have more time to prepare.
Budget	€8 billion, with €750 million reserved for each of three domains: low-temperature heat, high-temperature heat and molecules
Five phases	A maximum subsidy intensity of €75, €150, €225, €300 and €400 per tonne of CO2. You may apply in an earlier phase than your calculated one.
Ranking	RVO handles applications in the order they come in. If the budget is exceeded on one day, the projects of that day are ranked by subsidy intensity: the subsidy in euros per tonne of CO2.
Hydrogen	Electrolysers with a hydrogen production capacity of at least 500 kilowatts. With a grid connection, the hydrogen is fully renewable, with guarantees of origin from a wind or solar farm of at most 36 months old.

What the application contains. Each SDE++ application starts with a feasibility study. The study has a calculation of costs and revenues and a financing plan, and your own equity is shown with annual accounts or a balance sheet. With own equity below 20% of the investment, a letter of intent from a financier is added. The required permits are in place when you apply. When another party owns the site, that owner signs a consent form (RVO, September 2026). Signed orders and other irreversible commitments come after the application (RVO, 2026).

Demand. In the 2025 round, requests added up to about €22 billion, for a budget of €8 billion. 282 projects received about €7.9 billion (RVO, July 2026).

2027 and later. The Dutch cabinet has reserved money for SDE++ subsidies from 2027 up to and including 2032: €8 billion a year (RVO, 2026). Check the dates and rules of the 2027 round on the RVO website.

WBSO 2026: rates and when to apply

The WBSO pays back part of the wage costs of your R&D project. Companies with staff can also get a deduction for other costs and expenses of the project. You receive the benefit through your payroll tax return or your income tax return (RVO, 2026).

WBSO in 2026	Rate or amount
First bracket, up to €391,020 of the R&D base (in Dutch: S&O-grondslag)	36%
First bracket for starters	50%
Second bracket, above €391,020	16%
Self-employed: the R&D deduction	€15,979, plus €7,996 for starters

Who applies. An entrepreneur for Dutch income tax or corporate tax. An employer pays Dutch payroll tax for the staff who do the R&D work. The R&D project takes place in a member state of the EU (RVO, August 2026). So a Dutch private limited company (BV) with R&D staff on its payroll can apply.
When. You apply before the period starts. For a company with staff, a period starts on the first day of the month after the application, and each period lasts until 31 December. For a start on 1 January, the application is due by 20 December. The last day for 2026 applications was 30 September 2026 (RVO, 2025 and 2026).
2027. Applications for 2027 are possible from mid-November 2026 (RVO, October 2026). The plans for 2027 keep the rates and the bracket limit of 2026. The fixed R&D hourly wage rises from €29 to €33, the first change since 2008. The WBSO budget for 2027 is €1,968 million. The rules are final once the Senate approves them (RVO, 15 September 2026).
Login. Your company applies with eHerkenning level 3 and an authorisation for RVO services. For a director abroad, see eHerkenning for a foreign director.

The R&D declaration from a WBSO application also gives access to the innovation box (RVO, 2026). See the innovation box. Holdwise can process the WBSO in the payroll of your Dutch company: see Dutch payroll.

What your company needs to apply

Each scheme asks for a company with a clear role in the project. Often this is a company in the Netherlands or elsewhere in the EU that owns the project.

Innovation Fund. A legal entity from any country applies, for a project in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. A Dutch project company can sign the grant agreement and own the plant.
Hydrogen auction. The plant is in the EEA. The draft terms ask for a completion guarantee of 8% of the maximum grant, and a letter of intent from a bank with the bid.
SDE++. Only the intended producer applies: the company that sets up and operates the installation. It has the permits when it applies.
WBSO. The company falls under Dutch income tax or corporate tax, and pays Dutch payroll tax for its R&D staff.
Login. Applications at RVO use eHerkenning level 3, in the name of your company.

A Dutch BV can take each of these roles. With several plants or partners, a Dutch holding can own one project company per plant. See company formation in the Netherlands and the joint venture holding.

Do you also import hydrogen or ammonia? Your importer then needs status under the EU carbon border rules (CBAM), and certificates for renewable fuels. See hydrogen and ammonia imports into the EU.

Investors from the Gulf and India: see the Dutch holding for Gulf owners and families and starting from India.

How Holdwise prepares your application

Holdwise organises the application. An engineering firm from our network writes the technical part. You decide at each step, and the subsidy provider decides on the grant.

Work	Who does it
Choice of scheme, and the planning towards the deadline	Holdwise, with you
Technical part: feasibility study, technical description, emissions calculation and cost estimate	The engineering firm
Company documents, financial file, financing plan and eHerkenning	Holdwise, with your company
Your Dutch project company or holding	Holdwise, with a civil-law notary
Final check and submission	Holdwise prepares the file; your company signs and submits
Reports after the grant, and the WBSO in your payroll	Holdwise, with the engineering firm for the technical reports

The fee. Most of the fee is a success fee, linked to the grant. Your written proposal shows the fee in advance, so you decide with every amount in view.

Free first advice. You describe the project: the product, the site, the capacity, the planning and the company.
Scheme check. Holdwise and the engineering firm look at which schemes suit the project, and at the next deadlines.
Written proposal. The scope of the work and the fee, before you decide.
Preparation. The engineering firm writes the technical part. Holdwise collects the company and financial documents and plans each step towards the deadline.
Submission. Your company signs and submits: at RVO with eHerkenning, and for the Innovation Fund through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.
After the decision. The grant agreement, the reports and, for the WBSO, the processing in your payroll.

More on the partners in each assignment: how we work with partners. Other hydrogen work for your company: hydrogen companies in the Netherlands and a Dutch company for the Rotterdam energy corridor.

Want our team to have a look?

Sources

Last reviewed: 15 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can a company from outside the EU apply to the EU Innovation Fund?

Yes. The 2025 call accepted legal entities established in any country in the world. The project itself is located in an EU member state, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. A Dutch project company can sign the grant agreement and own the plant.

When are the next Innovation Fund calls?

The 2026 calls are planned for December 2026: net-zero technologies with a planned closing in April 2027, a new call for small and medium-sized enterprises with a first cut-off at the end of March 2027, a new maritime call, a heat auction of €1 billion and a hydrogen auction of up to €500 million (European Commission, 2026).

How does the European Hydrogen Bank auction work?

Each bid is a fixed premium in euros per kilogram of hydrogen. Bids are ranked from lowest to highest until the budget is used. The premium is paid for up to 10 years on certified and verified production. The draft terms for the fourth auction set a maximum bid of €4 per kilogram, for a plant in the European Economic Area with at least 5 megawatts of new electrolyser capacity at one location.

When can I apply for SDE++ in 2026?

From Tuesday 27 October 2026, 9:00, to Thursday 26 November 2026, 17:00. The budget is €8 billion. Only the intended producer applies, with the required permits and a feasibility study. RVO handles applications in the order they come in.

How are SDE++ applications ranked?

If the budget is exceeded on one day, the projects of that day are ranked by subsidy intensity: the subsidy in euros per tonne of CO2. Five phases raise the maximum intensity step by step, from €75 to €400 per tonne. €750 million is reserved for each of three domains: low-temperature heat, high-temperature heat and molecules.

What does the WBSO give in 2026?

36% of the first €391,020 of the R&D base, 50% for starters, and 16% above that. Self-employed people get an R&D deduction of €15,979, plus €7,996 for starters. A company with staff receives the benefit through its payroll tax return. Applications for 2027 are possible from mid-November 2026.

How does Holdwise charge for a subsidy application?

Most of the fee is a success fee. Your written proposal shows the fee in advance, before you decide. The first advice is free. An engineering firm from our network writes the technical part, and your company signs the application.