Cabinet targets 110 GWh of large batteries by 2040

The cabinet expects the Netherlands to have 110 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity in 2040, more than 50 times what existed at the end of 2025. It is the first time it has set a target (richtwaarde) for new large batteries. Minister Van Veldhoven and State Secretary De Bat (Klimaat en Groene Groei) wrote this to the Tweede Kamer in a vision on energy storage.

Why it matters

• Households can be paid by their energy supplier if they help absorb grid peaks with a home battery, heat pump or charging point.
• Since 1 November, households in Gelderland, Utrecht, Flevoland and Noord-Brabant have been able to sign up with a number of suppliers.
• The rest of the Netherlands will follow next year.

The storage sector is growing, the cabinet says, but not fast enough to reach 110 GWh. It therefore drew up a Beleidsagenda Energieopslag (energy storage policy agenda) with Netbeheer Nederland, the association of grid operators, and Energy Storage NL, working with the ACM and other authorities. It contains 25 actions to remove the main bottlenecks.

The agreements cover how grid operators, the storage sector and regional authorities can issue permits for large batteries faster. They also set good conditions and payments so that storage can help ease grid congestion. One example is connecting large batteries as standard with a flexible contract.

The cabinet says more storage can save renewable energy for moments with less wind and sun, and can step in when regional demand for power is high or low. It adds that grid-aware storage could sharply reduce the investment the grid itself needs.

Home devices can be set to take in more power when demand is low and feed it back at busy times, the cabinet says. Households get the payment through their supplier.

The letter puts a figure on the grid saving: well-integrated storage can cut the investment needed in the electricity grid by up to €4bn. A study sent to parliament with the agenda found that large batteries (over 1 MW) will at least not add to congestion in the coming years, and at best will ease it. Progress will be tracked in a Monitor Energieopslag. If too little is achieved, administrative and political choices will have to be made to speed things up.

What this means for you

• A new (hybrid) heat pump can get the investment subsidy for sustainable energy and energy saving (Investeringssubsidie duurzame energie en energiebesparing, ISDE) if it is installed in a home built before 1 January 2019, or if the building permit was applied for before 1 July 2018.
• The subsidy is applied for after installation, within 24 months, and is always at least €500, with the exact amount depending on the type of heat pump.
• The application states the heat pump's code from the approved-models list (meldcodelijst). A pump not on the list can still be submitted with its product description and technical documentation, but may be rejected.
• The application needs an invoice and proof of payment, plus the DigiD app or DigiD with SMS check, which can take a few working days to arrange.

Source: RVO, ISDE for homeowners: heat pump, read 9 November 2026