Sustainable Energy and Energy Saving Investment Subsidy for Business Users (ISDE) Grant

About this grant

The ISDE business-user scheme (Investeringssubsidie duurzame energie en energiebesparing voor zakelijke gebruikers) is a Dutch national investment subsidy run by RVO that helps business and institutional users make their buildings more sustainable. It covers a heat pump, a solar water heater (zonneboiler) and a small wind turbine. Subsidy amounts depend on the measure type, the heat pump's type, energy label and capacity, the solar collector aperture area and boiler volume, and the year of application. Small wind turbines receive up to € 140 per square metre of rotor area. Unlike the homeowner version, the business scheme requires the subsidy application to be submitted and approved before the customer accepts a contractor's quote or the equipment is reserved or installed. Applications are assessed in order of receipt, with a decision normally within 8 weeks (up to 16 weeks in busy periods). After approval the installation must be completed within 2 years, and a final assessment (vaststelling) must be requested within 13 weeks of installation, with proof such as an invoice, proof of payment and, for heat pumps, a commissioning form. Insulation measures are not eligible under ISDE for business users; they may instead qualify for the Energy Investment Deduction (EIA) tax scheme. Rental-property landlords and housing associations are directed to other schemes such as SVOH, and owners' associations to SVVE. Applications are made through the RVO portal using eHerkenning (level 2+ with RVO authorisation) or DigiD for private individuals without a KvK number. Multiple devices or a collective measure may be covered by one application. The scheme is subject to EU State aid rules under the General Block Exemption Regulation (AGVV), and grants above € 100,000 are reported to the Transparency Award Module.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are business users, including SMEs and self-employed persons without staff (zzp), government bodies such as provinces, municipalities and water boards, religious institutions, partnerships (maatschappen, commanditaire vennootschappen, vennootschappen onder firma), housing corporations, associations such as sports and staff associations, and owners of holiday homes or a second home that is neither the owner's main residence nor rented out. Landlords of rental homes who are not registered with the Chamber of Commerce as landlords are treated as private landlords and cannot apply for ISDE from 2025 onwards. Owners' associations (VvE), residential associations and housing cooperatives cannot apply under ISDE. Applicants must log in with eHerkenning at level 2+ or DigiD if they have no KvK number. Eligible measures are heat pumps, solar water heaters and small wind turbines; insulation is excluded for business users. Heat pumps and solar water heaters must appear on the official meldcode list.

How it's scored

Applications are not competitively scored. They are assessed in order of receipt against the technical and eligibility requirements of the measure, including a meldcode check for heat pumps and solar water heaters or submission of product documentation and technical specifications for other devices. Decisions are issued within 8 weeks, or 16 weeks if the scheme is very busy. Funding is allocated on a first-come basis subject to the available budget.

Key requirements

• ✓Applicant must be a business, government body, association or other non-residential user in the Netherlands
• ✓Eligible for purchase of a (hybrid) heat pump or solar boiler; small-scale wind turbines for businesses only until 31 December 2027
• ✓Applications must be submitted by 31 December 2030

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply for Sustainable Energy and Energy Saving Investment Subsidy for Business Users (ISDE)?

Eligibility covers organisations in NL; sme, large-company, nonprofit, local-authority, charity, social-enterprise, cooperative. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Heating and cooling funding supports heat pumps, district heating, thermal networks, efficient cooling and the removal of fossil boilers. It arrives through national support schemes, local authority programmes and procurement for heat networks. Applicants typically need heat demand assessments, a connection plan and an operator for the system.