Subsidy for hydrogen and methanol ships, and how it applies to a shipowner from abroad

Who can apply

Shipowners established in the Netherlands can apply. Under the regulation, this is a shipowner with a main office or a branch (hoofdvestiging or nevenvestiging) in the Netherlands. The shipowner is registered in the trade register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK).

A shipowner from abroad applies through its own Dutch company or through a Dutch branch of its company, registered with the KVK. With a Dutch private limited company (BV), one Dutch company owns the ship, receives the subsidy and has the obligations of the coming years. This company is separate from your company at home.

Each application is for one ship. A shipowner with several ships submits a separate application for each ship, and each project is for one energy line on one ship.

The ministry chose shipowners as the applicants, because the shipowner decides how the ship is used and is responsible for the obligations after the grant. Your yard and your suppliers are part of your application as builder and suppliers.

Until two calendar years after the request for the final assessment of the subsidy (vaststelling), a shipowner established in the Netherlands must own the ship. RVO can ask for proof of this in a random check.

Your company must also pass the test of the European Union (EU) for companies in financial difficulty. You apply online with eHerkenning at level 3. Companies in the Netherlands use eHerkenning to log in to government services. For a director abroad, see eHerkenning for a foreign director.

Eligible costs and the subsidy rate

The subsidy is for the purchase and installation of an energy line for hydrogen or methanol. An energy line is the set of engines or fuel cells and their systems, for the propulsion of the ship and for any work on board.

Energy-saving systems and a battery pack are eligible only in a project with a hydrogen or methanol energy line. The eligible costs are investment costs, and you pay fuel and other operating costs yourself. Operational measures, such as slower sailing or a different route, are excluded.

The subsidy rate

The maximum is €4 million per project until 1 January 2028 and €3.5 million per project from that date. The minimum is €500,000 in eligible costs per project.

The EU definition of small and medium-sized companies applies. A small company has fewer than 50 employees and a turnover or balance sheet total of at most €10 million. A medium-sized company has fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of at most €50 million or a balance sheet total of at most €43 million.

For the test, you add the figures of linked companies in your group. A Dutch company in a large shipping group is therefore a large company.

Other state aid or EU funding for the same project is allowed up to the limits in the EU guidelines on state aid for climate, environmental protection and energy (CEEAG).

What the subsidy is worth per application

The subsidy per application is at least €200,000 and at most €4 million. The minimum is 40% of the minimum eligible costs of €500,000. These are examples at the lowest and the highest rate.

The rate of 40% is for every project. The rate of 70% is for a small company with a zero-emission ship. At 40%, you receive the maximum of €4 million from €10 million in eligible costs. At 70%, this is from about €5.7 million. From 1 January 2028, the maximum is €3.5 million per project.

The ministry expects to support about 25 to 30 ships with the full budget of €102.8 million. RVO awards the subsidy to the projects with the highest scores. Our team arranges the application with a maritime specialist, who writes the technical part with your yard and suppliers.

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How we arrange the application

Our team arranges the full application, for shipowners in the Netherlands and from abroad. A maritime specialist from our network writes the technical part with your yard and suppliers. You decide at each step, and RVO decides on the subsidy.

Our fee consists of a feasibility check at a fixed price, a fixed amount for the file and a percentage of the subsidy awarded. For more detail, see our page about subsidies and other steps after your Dutch company. You see every amount in your proposal before you decide.

1. Our team has a look first. You describe the ship, the plan for a new ship or a conversion, the fuel and your company.
2. Feasibility check. With the specialist, we check the eligible costs, the clean ship test and the likely score of your project.
3. Proposal. You receive the scope of the work and the fee before you decide.
4. For a shipowner from abroad. We set up the Dutch company or register the branch before 9 February 2027.
5. Application. The specialist writes the technical part, we collect the documents, and your director submits the application before 9 February 2027 at 17:00.
6. After the grant. We do the bookkeeping and prepare the reports and the request for the final assessment, until the end of the obligations.

For energy and industry projects, see subsidies for energy and industry projects in the Netherlands. For hydrogen trucks and refuelling stations, see the Dutch subsidy for hydrogen in road transport. This page is also available in Dutch.

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Which ships are eligible

The scheme is for seagoing and coastal ships for the transport of goods or passengers, and for nautical or other services. Work ships are included, such as ships for offshore work, surveys, towing and dredging. Fishing vessels and seagoing pleasure craft are excluded.

After the project, the ship must pass one of the following tests.

• A zero-emission ship. The direct emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the exhaust are zero. The subsidy rate for a zero-emission ship is 10 percentage points higher.
• A clean ship with a hybrid or dual-fuel engine. In normal operation, at least 25% of the energy is from fuel with zero direct CO2 emissions or from plug-in electricity. The Dutch term in the regulation is schoon zeeschip.
• A clean ship under the energy efficiency test, for new ships only. The Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is the energy efficiency score of the IMO for new ships. The EEDI of the ship is 10% below the requirement of 1 April 2022. The ship is also suitable for fuel with zero direct CO2 emissions or for fuel from renewable sources.
• For a conversion, a ship suitable for hydrogen or methanol. After the conversion, the ship is suitable for hydrogen or methanol, next to fossil fuel or as a replacement. A larger share of hydrogen or renewable methanol after the conversion is also enough.

A new work ship with a methanol energy line is excluded. The conversion of an existing work ship to methanol is eligible.

How RVO ranks the applications

RVO awards this subsidy through a tender. After the deadline of 9 February 2027 at 17:00, RVO reviews all complete applications submitted on time. RVO treats an application from 6 October and an application from 9 February in the same way.

An independent advisory committee of three to five maritime experts scores each project on five criteria, up to a total of 100 points. RVO then awards the subsidy in order of score until the budget of €29 million is spent.

The minimum is 15 points on the first criterion and 13 points on the third. If two projects have the same place in the ranking and the remaining budget is enough for one of them, RVO decides by lot.

In the explanatory note to the regulation, the ministry gives examples of evidence for the first criterion.

• charter contracts or work contracts;
• timetables of liner or ferry services;
• the past movements of the ship, for a ship on an existing service;
• bunker contracts for renewable methanol or green hydrogen in the ports on the route;
• a letter of intent from a shipper or client who is willing to pay the higher costs of climate-neutral shipping.

RVO decides within 13 weeks after the deadline.

The maritime specialist from our network prepares this evidence and the calculations with you and your yard.

What to prepare before 9 February 2027

Our team prepares this file with you. The specialist writes the technical part, and we collect the other documents.

1. The Dutch registration. A shipowner from abroad needs a Dutch company or a registered Dutch branch, with a KVK number, before the application.
2. eHerkenning. Your director applies online with eHerkenning at level 3. According to RVO, you receive eHerkenning within one to five working days.
3. The RVO formats. You write the project plan, the budget and the calculation of the CO2 reduction in the RVO formats for this scheme. For the project plan, RVO accepts only its own format.
4. The documents of the ship. You add proof of ownership of the ship, or proof of the order for a new ship. You also add the certificate of the ship and a calculation for the clean ship test.
5. The documents of your company.
   • A small or medium-sized company adds a declaration of its size (mkb-verklaring).
   • A large company adds a statement on the incentive effect of the subsidy.
   • Every applicant adds the declaration on companies in difficulty, with the decision scheme and the latest annual reports.
   • A company in a group adds a chart of the legal structure and the shareholdings of the whole group.
6. Quotes and financing. You add quotes from your yard and suppliers, including provisional quotes, and the commitments of your bank or investors.
7. The order of steps. Request quotes before you apply. Sign the order with the yard and start the work after the grant decision, as the ministry advises in the explanatory note to the regulation. RVO rejects an application if you placed the order or started the work before you applied.

Payments and obligations after the grant

• RVO pays a first advance of 30% of the subsidy within two weeks after the grant decision.
• RVO pays a second advance of 50% at the start of the project. The start of the project is the moment the yard receives the main component of the energy line, such as the combustion engine or the fuel cell. You report the start to RVO with proof such as a transport or delivery document.
• RVO pays the remaining 20% after the final assessment (vaststelling).
• Start and finish. You start the project within six months after the grant decision and finish it within three years after the start.
• Every year, you send RVO a progress report. You report changes in the project to RVO, and for some changes you ask RVO for approval in advance.
• The final assessment. Within 13 weeks after the end of the project, you request the final assessment with an end report and a certified overview of all costs paid. For a subsidy above €125,000, you also add a statement from an auditor.
• Dutch ownership. Until two calendar years after that request, a shipowner established in the Netherlands must own the ship.
• Sharing knowledge. At the request of the ministry, you help to share the results of the project, from the grant until five years after the final assessment. After the project, you publish a report with the knowledge from the project, except business secrets.
• Evaluation. Up to five years after the final assessment, you help with the evaluation of the scheme.
• Publication. For a subsidy above €100,000, RVO publishes details of the grant on the EU State Aid Transparency website. These are your company name, KVK number, company size, sector code, the amount and the date of the grant.

The next rounds

The Dutch government has reserved €102.8 million for 2027 to 2029. The budget is €29 million for 2027, €29 million for 2028 and €44.8 million for 2029. The current round, with applications from 6 October 2026 at 9:00 to 9 February 2027 at 17:00, is the round for 2027.

The ministry announces the application periods for 2028 and 2029 each year in the Dutch Government Gazette (Staatscourant). With the full budget, the ministry expects to support about 25 to 30 ships. From 1 January 2028, the maximum is €3.5 million per project. All times on this page are Dutch time.

Sources

• Staatscourant 2026, 21927, the Dutch regulation Tijdelijke subsidieregeling vroege opschaling energietransitie zeeschepen 2026-2030, with its explanatory note (published on 12 August 2026, read on 1 November 2026, in Dutch)
• Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Tijdelijke subsidieregeling vroege opschaling energietransitie zeeschepen 2026-2030 (page checked on 26 October 2026, in Dutch)
• RVO, subsidies and financing for the maritime sector (page checked on 30 October 2026, in Dutch)
• RVO, the declaration for small and medium-sized companies, the mkb-verklaring (in Dutch)
• RVO, the test for companies in difficulty (in Dutch)
• European Commission, Guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy 2022 (CEEAG)
• European Commission, Recommendation 2003/361/EC on the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
• Ondernemersplein (RVO), applying for eHerkenning, the login for subsidies at RVO (in Dutch)

Last reviewed on 1 November 2026.