Versnelde klimaatinvesteringen industrie (VEKI) Grant

About this grant

The VEKI subsidy (Versnelde klimaatinvesteringen industrie) from the Dutch Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland supports industrial companies in the Netherlands that invest in proven, market-ready CO2-reducing measures for their own production processes. The problem addressed is that such investments are financially unattractive when the payback period exceeds five years without support, so the subsidy closes the gap for businesses that would otherwise carry the investment cost and risk themselves. Funded activities fall within four themes: energy efficiency within the production process; circular economy measures such as reprocessing waste into products, materials or substances, and reuse of products or parts; infrastructure for waste heat and hydrogen; and other CO2-lowering measures within the company's production process. Demonstration and pilot projects are excluded and are directed to the DEI+ scheme instead. Subsidies are capped at EUR 30 million per project, with lower caps of EUR 25 million for specific hydrogen or waste heat infrastructure and storage, and EUR 11 million for public hydrogen infrastructure. Total project costs may not exceed EUR 22 million after deducting operating profit. Subsidy may not exceed EUR 80 per tonne of CO2 reduction over the first 15 years of use. Minimum requested amounts are EUR 125,000 for large enterprises and EUR 30,000 for SMEs. Applications are assessed in order of receipt until the budget is exhausted. The total budget is EUR 123.2 million and is currently oversubscribed. Applications open 7 May 2026 at 09:00 and close 28 January 2027 at 17:00, Dutch time. Projects must not start works before application, must start within six months of the decision letter, and must complete within four years of starting works. Applications are submitted through the online portal using eHerkenning level 3 with RVO-diensten authorisation, and require a project plan, budget, co-financing explanation, SME declaration, payback calculation, CO2 calculation, a no-EML-measures declaration, and a declaration that the company is not in difficulty with supporting documents.

Eligibility

Applicants must be enterprises in the Dutch industry, defined as companies in CBS SBI main groups C (manufacturing), E (water and waste management) and D (energy distribution), based on the SBI code of the activity that achieves the CO2 reduction. The investment must be made by the applicant for its own account and risk, within its own company, and must deliver an absolute CO2 reduction in the Netherlands in 2030 compared with current industrial emissions. Investments must have a payback period above five years without subsidy. Projects must be market-ready rather than demonstration or pilot projects. Applicants must not be undertakings in difficulty under the General Block Exemption Regulation. Projects are excluded if they concern only the design or production of environmentally friendly products, biofuels, CO2 capture, storage or reuse, mobile construction equipment (covered by SEBB), pre-engineering only, or compliance with EU norms not yet in force, or renewable energy measures under article 41 of the GBER. Intermediaries may apply on behalf of an applicant with an authorisation.

How it's scored

Applications are assessed in order of receipt until the budget is exhausted; there is no competitive scoring. Assessment covers whether the project fits a listed theme, whether the investment would not proceed without subsidy given a payback period over five years, the quality of the project and soundness of claims about the technology and economic perspective, whether the applicant is not in difficulty, and whether the subsidy amount stays within EUR 80 per tonne CO2 reduction. The assessment period is eight weeks from a complete application, extendable once by eight weeks. Final subsidy amounts are determined after project completion through a settlement request.

Key requirements

• ✓Applicant must be an industrial enterprise operating in the Netherlands seeking to reduce CO2 emissions
• ✓Measures must be proven technologies with high investment costs and a payback period longer than 5 years
• ✓Applications accepted between 7 May 2026 and 28 January 2027

Recent past awardees

Knowing who's won the last rounds tells you whether you're in the strike zone.

• Thielco
• Vibrantz

Frequently asked questions

How much funding does Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) offer?

Versnelde klimaatinvesteringen industrie (VEKI) offers $34K – $33M.

When is the Versnelde klimaatinvesteringen industrie (VEKI) deadline?

Applications close 28 Jan 2027 16:00.

Who can apply for Versnelde klimaatinvesteringen industrie (VEKI)?

Eligibility covers organisations in NL; sme, large-company. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Industrial decarbonisation funding helps heavy industry cut emissions through electrification, fuel switching, process change and efficiency. Support is often capital-intensive and tied to a specific site, with feasibility studies leading to larger deployment calls. Applicants need emissions baselines, engineering studies and a plan to keep production running during the change.