EU: approval of a €50B Dutch State aid to support e-boilers and address negative electricity prices

The European Commission has approved, on 30/10/2025, under EU State aid rules, the prolongation of and amendments to the Dutch SDE++ (‘Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie’) scheme until 31/12/2029.

Launched in december 2020, the scheme supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions via a range of technologies including renewable electricity and heat, hydrogen and transport fuels. The SDE++ was approved by the Commission in December 2020 and amended in December 2021 and July 2023. Its initial budget was €30B, which has been augmented to €50B.

The changes concern the introduction of support to existing large scale e-boilers, designed for industrial high heat and steam, and a measure to address the increasing number of hours with negative electricity prices. The Netherlands registered 474 hours with negative electricity prices over the first eight months of 2025. The figure surpasses the number of negative price hours in the Netherlands across 2024, which reached 458.

The Commission found that the prolonged and amended scheme meets the compatibility criteria in the 2022…